• Socialist leader says ‘No thanks’, that Podemos has lost chance to collaborate
• PSOE asks Valencia’s Ximo Puig to pull out of talks with Podemos, Compromís
The Socialist party (PSOE) has rejected out of hand a surprise offer from rival anti-austerity party Podemos to run candidates on joint tickets in Senate races across Spain’s 17 autonomous communities in upcoming 26th June general elections (26-J), in a move ostensibly aimed at blocking the conservative Partido Popular from regaining a Senate majority.
PSOE general secretary Pedro Sánchez said Tuesday that he told Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias “No thanks”, that the PSOE would field its own Senate candidates and Iglesias had missed his chance to collaborate with the Socialists by voting twice against Sanchez’s candidacy to form a progressive coalition government. PSOE spokespersons also questioned the sudden timing of Iglesias’ offer and said they doubted the sincerity of his intentions.
The PSOE leadership has told the Socialist president of the Valencian community, Ximo Puig, to back away from informal talks with Podemos and Valencia’s regional Compromís coalition to field Senate candidates in common from Valencia. Puig, who governs Valencia with support from both Compromís and Podemos, said that while he disagrees with the decision by the central party on the matter, he will abide by a final decision expected to be taken on Saturday.
► Read More in Spanish at El País, Las Provincias and El Mundo …
► Read More in English at The Spain Report …
