Iglesias slams Díaz: she would be CCOO's best-paid member at the ILO

Why does Pablo Iglesias call Yolanda Díaz CCOO's best-paid member?

Spain's left-wing infighting has a new front. Pablo Iglesias, former deputy prime minister and founder of Podemos, has attacked current deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz over her possible move to the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to the former Podemos leader, Díaz would become "the best-paid CCOO member in history". The jab is not innocent: the salary of a senior official at an international body like the ILO can reach around 250,000 euros a year tax-free, far above a Spanish minister's pay. Iglesias's comment, posted on social media, has peine the wounds of a political space already fractured by the power struggle between the two figures.

The envy of the well paid

Some argue that Iglesias's criticism is pure envy: he himself had the chance to pursue well-paid international posts after leaving the government, but it never materialised. At the other end, some analysts suggest the move is aimed at wearing Díaz down ahead of the next electoral cycle, portraying her as a leader who abandons national politics for a golden post in Geneva. "What bugs the rat isn't that she earns a lot, it's that she earns more than him," one observer quipped ironically. The economic backdrop is real: a well-paid ILO post contrasts with the caps on senior officials' salaries that Sumar and Podemos have always denounced.

CCOO, between defence and silence

The comparison with membership of Comisiones Obreras (CCOO, one of Spain's largest trade unions) is no trivial matter. Díaz is a longtime CCOO member, the very union that negotiates workers' wages. If she took the ILO post, her annual pay would be several times that of an average union delegate. The paradox has not gone unnoticed by those who see Díaz as a "tucana" (dove) ready to jump to the international bureaucracy. The union, for now, has made no official comment on Iglesias's remarks.

Elections on the horizon

The electoral context heats up the spat. The possibility that Díaz may not run again and instead opt for an international post fuels speculation. Iglesias, who already accused her in 2023 of "fracturing the left", is tightening the screws. "Elections are coming, that's clear," say political circles. And meanwhile, Ferran's goal at the Camp Nou fades into the background: the catfight between the two former allies is the main event.

There is no certainty that Díaz will accept the ILO post, but the battle over salaries is already served. Spain's left, which always preached against privilege, rubs its eyes watching its leaders argue over who earns the most. Ironies of fate.