Ada Colau, Among the New Ministers Yolanda Díaz Wants

This Thursday marks the start of a new legislative session and parties are beginning to speculate about the new positions. One of them is Sumar, a party expected to be part of the coalition government if an agreement is finally reached. The formation led by Yolanda Díaz is making predictions for its ministries.

The initial idea is for Sumar to obtain at least four ministries. One would be occupied by Yolanda Díaz herself, another by the Secretary of State for Social Rights, Nacho Álvarez, and another by Sumar's program coordinator, María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop. The fourth would be for Ada Colau, as a reward for the good results of the commons in Catalonia.

This is an elaborate strategy by Yolanda Díaz to fill the key ministries of Unidas Podemos (such as Social Rights and Equality) with people from her circle. Her intention is to isolate the most disruptive elements. In a legislature expected to be unstable, she prioritizes understanding with PSOE and stability.

Two Dissidents from Podemos

Sumar wants to avoid the tensions that in the past legislature pitted ministers from Podemos (Ione Belarra and Irene Montero) against the conservative sector of PSOE (Nadia Calviño and José Luis Escrivá). Álvarez and Palop are the ideal people to do so.

Nacho Álvarez, an economist and number two at the Ministry of Social Rights, comes from the orbit of Podemos. But he represents the sector most aligned with understanding with PSOE. Hence, despite holding a position in the Executive of Podemos, he is considered by moderates as an outcast.

María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, a jurist and Member of the European Parliament for Unidas Podemos, left the purples to join Yolanda Díaz's sector in these last elections. Díaz rewarded her with the direction of the electoral campaign. And now she has chosen her to replace Irene Montero in the controversial Ministry of Equality.

Ada Colau in the Predictions

Another name that is strongly mentioned is Ada Colau. Díaz would thus reward the commons, a bastion of Sumar's resistance in the July 23 elections. Additionally, she would place one of her own in a key ministry, Housing, as this will be one of the priorities of the new term.

Sumar faces a complicated legislature internally. Unidas Podemos, the party with the largest representation in the coalition, is also the most problematic for Yolanda Díaz. On one hand, she can't do without their deputies, but on the other hand, they hinder the moderate shift initiated by the Galician.

In Yolanda Díaz's plans, offering ministries to Unidos Podemos is not included, only to Sumar and the commons. But this would open a rift within the coalition that could end up affecting the government. The purples have already warned that they can break the voting discipline at any moment during the legislature.