Yolanda Díaz steps down as leader of Sumar following the outcome of the European Championships

Yolanda Díaz leaves the leadership of Sumar. Just a few months after gaining the support of her political platform's militancy to become general coordinator, the second vice president is stepping down from her organic responsibilities and will focus on her job within the government as Minister of Labor, according to sources familiar with the decision. to elDiario.es. Díaz made this decision afterwards difficult results in the European elections who question the viability of the project under construction since Pablo Iglesias handed over control of the confederal space in 2021.

Sumar left this Sunday only 3 seats in the European elections. A poor result, which also means that Izquierda Unida, Díaz's most important partner in building the broad front of left-wing parties, is leaving Brussels. Part of these results are due to a better-than-expected performance by Podemos, which won two MEPs and showed that it has more weight within the left-wing electorate than the vice-president's hard core gave it credit for.

In Sumar they understand that some of the leadership is working, their role at the head of Sumar in the government and in the Ministry of Labor, and they defend that this is something that the polls reflect. But they also believe that he must accept election results that they have considered negative from the first moment and that is why he has decided to resign to make way for someone else and open a reflection on how the political project should be built up.

Yolanda Díaz later announced the decision in a streaming video, no questions. “I feel like I haven't done the things I should have done and haven't done the things I know how to do best. The citizens have noticed. Many people have told me that. We must be there to solve people's problems, not the problems of parties or politicians. The last elections have served as a mirror: citizens are not wrong if they vote, nor if they do not vote,” Díaz began.

The hitherto leader of Sumar has taken first-hand responsibility for these elections. “I have decided to resign from my position as general coordinator of Sumar; “There must be a debate and with this decision I am opening a path that must be collective, both within Sumar and in the organizations that are part of the coalition,” he said in his speech.

“It is necessary to step aside to take a step forward in politics that serves working people,” Díaz summarized.

After the announcement, leaders of the left began to react. “A step aside to take a step forward. Thank you for your work and your courage, @Yolanda_Diaz_. We have the best Vice President and Secretary of Labor to continue promoting the best progressive policies. We continue to work with more momentum than ever from the coalition government,” Health Minister and Más Madrid leader Mónica García said in a post on social networks.

After Sunday's scene, practically all organizations involved in the construction of Sumar had asked the management of the political project for reflection. The spokesperson himself, Ernest Urtasun, acknowledged this Sunday that the results were not as expected, that they went beyond the European elections and that they therefore initiated a process of reflection to strengthen the political project.

Although no one has called for Yolanda Díaz's resignation, the tweets of some party leaders have been harshly critical of Sumar's leadership and the way in which the process of building a broad front that has not worked so far has been underway has been set. For now, Sumar is just the Sumar Movement, a political formation that includes cadres from other political formations and independent people close to the Minister of Labor. All these months, the moves in this direction have angered the political parties that want to participate in the construction of the project for various reasons.

These tensions exploded during the negotiations to draw up the European election list, in which Sumar decided to relegate Izquierda Unida, the only state party on the list, to fourth place, ultimately leaving them out of the European Parliament. IU even debated in a meeting whether to accept that position or go it alone. Yolanda Díaz put ahead the comuns, who were behind Podemos in Catalonia on Sunday, and Compromís, which is not part of the organic construction of Sumar.

Sumar's expectations have diminished as the European elections approached. After the internal turbulence, with a candidate, Estrella Galán, who has not yet finished working, and with leaks towards the PSOE and Podemos, the coalition has ended up with three seats and less than 5% of the votes at state level, despite a power have five ministries in the government. These results also come after a total failure in Galicia, where they failed to enter Parliament, a very poor result in Euskadi and a setback also in Catalonia.

Sunday's results have exhausted the parties' patience. Yolanda Díaz, who did not even go to Sumar's headquarters on election night to support her candidate, has decided to take immediate responsibility and give up all her organic positions to remain involved in the work within the government, only a few months after the elections. founding meeting that made her leader. What is now emerging is a new phase of unrest and uncertainty for the left, which is shrinking and entangled in its internal struggle.

Now all unknowns are open. The first to try to take over from Díaz at the head of Sumar, if the leaders understand that the organization as it exists today still makes sense. Together with Díaz, the decision-making triangle commanding the party was completed by Ernest Urtasun and Íñigo Errejón. According to close sources, the former does not a priori plan to take over the management of the organization. “Today's decision by Yolanda Díaz is one of honesty, a long-term vision and militant commitment,” Errejón said after learning of the decision.