2023 is an important year for her Spain. In addition to taking over the presidency of the European Union in a month, the country is moving towards early elections on Sunday, July 23. The match was scheduled for December this year, but the problematic performance of the ruling Socialist Party in the recent municipal and regional elections prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to decide to speed it up.

Sánchez led a center-left coalition for more than three years, the first time in Spanish history with the participation of the Podemos faction. Podemos was previously known for his opposition to austerity measures during the debt crisis. In Greece, this became known due to a common understanding with SYRIZA before the signing of the third memorandum in the summer of 2015. However, since the summer of 2021, the head of Podemos is not founder Pablo Iglesias, but Ione. Belara, a young politician who received wide recognition in the party.

The vote of Spanish citizens in municipal and regional elections usually has a local flavor and reflects their interest in local events. A recent poll showed that 75% of voters would have such criteria before going to the ballot box. However, the impact of the result at the national level is undeniable. Thus, Pedro Sanchez took the risk of calling early elections, hoping to prevent the creation of a political current in favor of the conservative People’s Party.

Suffrage in Spain is based on simple proportionality, and the system of government is multi-level. The two poles have traditionally been the People’s Party and the Socialist Workers’ Party. However, in the last ten years or so, new parties have begun to form, to which, in addition to Podemos, the far-right Vox belongs. There are also some factions that are only active in certain provinces in Spain, but manage to be represented nationally due to their strong local support of the population.

For now, the People’s Party, led by Alberto Nunez Feijo, leads the polls with just over 30%, followed by the Socialist Workers’ Party with just under 25%. Vox collects about 15%. Developments on the left are of particular interest, as the current Minister of Labor and former Podemos chief executive, Yolanda Diaz, has created her own party called Sumar, with a percentage share ranging from 10% to 13%, while Podemos’ share is now 6%. . Yolanda Diaz is currently the most popular politician in Spain and her new faction may find a way to work with Podemos until July.