Nervios entre los socios de Sánchez, obligados a acelerar por el ruido de tambores electorales

Rumors of a possible premature election are causing consternation among the partners of Pedro Sánchez, who are being forced to expedite their plans due to the clamor of electoral drums. After convening on Sunday, they declared that they would form the "Frente Amplio" and their candidate would run on October 17th. While Pedro Sánchez is analyzing the reach of the unrest in the streets over the housing issue and gathering opinions from his closest collaborators on the pros and cons of an early election, the nerves are running high among his government partners and parliamentary allies.

Not everyone sees the clear convenience in advancing the elections, despite the social tension over housing and the PSOE and its allies trying to channel this indignation towards the right. Podemos leader Ione Belarra insisted that people don't want elections, they want solutions, demanding that the executive launch an ambitious housing decree and approve one every month.

If it's not approved in Parliament (which) he would bring each month, he said. For his current government partner, Sumar, it's not a good time. Although the outgoing leader of the platform, Yolanda Díaz, has signaled in recent hours that it is the president's prerogative to decide when to hold elections and that this is something that must be respected, she added that the parties that make up Sumar would stand up to any scenario.

The surprise is that the possibility of an early election has caught the Sumar parties off guard, having not designated an alternative candidate for Díaz, despite knowing for months that she would not run again. The scenario forces them to convene an emergency meeting on Sunday to accelerate the process and announce that their candidate will run officially on October 17th, finalizing their political project, now called "Frente Amplio."

Whether or not elections are called, the "Frente Amplio" will continue working to address the demands of the streets and protect those for whom home is not a source of tranquility but insecurity, sources from the minority partner of the government said, who will reconvene on Monday. Meanwhile, in the PSOE and in the executive, there is division between those who advocate for calling the elections immediately and those who advocate for pushing a bit more on the housing issue, giving time for the alternative left to reorganize.

According to various polls, the gap between the intention to vote for PP and Vox and the left is enormous in favor of the right. For now, signals do not point to the immediate call for elections (i.e., announcing it on Monday and publishing it in the BOE on Tuesday for the elections to be held on November 29th) on Sunday, according to the agendas of both the king and Pedro Sánchez himself, who, facing an imminent dissolution of the Cortes, should inform the monarch in advance.

The kings leave on Monday for their first state visit to Finland, while Sánchez confirmed his participation on Monday in the opening of the 29th Congress of the Family Enterprise Institute, which he has attended for eight years (since 2018). For the PP, Sánchez should call the elections without further delay.