Spain's far left in bitter fight over top spots on joint list

Ada Colau has admitted that the obstacle to a joint left-wing list with Podemos is a fight over names and positions on the ballot, and she has offered to give up her role as lead candidate if someone builds broader consensus. The legal deadline to register coalitions ends on Friday night.

This is not about policy. It is about who appears on the poster, and in what order. Ada Colau said so plainly in an interview on TVE: the problem with Podemos in putting together a unified left-wing list is not what it proposes to do, but what the list is called and who leads it. Faced with that, the former mayor of Barcelona put her own position on the table. "If later more parties join the Frente Amplio and there is someone who generates more consensus than my candidacy... By all means, I would absolutely step aside," she said.

## The clock is ticking: Friday night

Coalitions must be registered no later than Friday night. With less than 72 hours to go before that deadline, talks between the Frente Amplio and Podemos remain open, but the leadership question is an obstacle that has not yet been overcome. The four parties behind the alliance back Colau as their figurehead. Podemos insists it should be Irene Montero. That is the knot.

Colau said she was "optimistic" while acknowledging the need to be "realistic," and insisted that "there is time." She also made clear that Irene Montero must be on the list: "Of course she has to be on it." What she will not accept is unity breaking down over what she calls personal or branding issues. "It will not be because of me," she said.

## "Consensus of everyone, not one party imposing on the rest"

The former mayor insisted there is no programmatic difference separating the Frente Amplio from Podemos. If that is the case, she pointed out how striking it is that unity is at risk over questions of names. And she sent a direct message to Podemos: she is willing to discuss names or positions on the list, but "with the consensus of all the forces" and "not one party imposing its conditions on the rest."

Her offer goes beyond the leadership. She is also open to changing the name of the alliance if that unblocks a deal. "Same with the name. If the problem were the name of the alliance, we would change even the name," she said. For her, what matters is not losing "a single left-wing vote."

## The ERC deal that discouraged

Colau described the agreement between Podemos and ERC in Catalonia as "disconcerting." She said it discouraged many people because it does more to divide than to unite. Even so, she believes dialogue is still possible, even with ERC, because electoral alliances can be reached that respect the parties and their brands. What she would find "incomprehensible" is if that deal was made to attack Comunes, a left-wing party.

The Frente Amplio's negotiations with other left-wing and regional parties are "well advanced," according to Colau. With Podemos, talks "remain open." "Our obligation is to talk until the very last minute," she concluded.