The Valencian political scene gained enormous prominence in the last 28-M elections, with many hypotheses about the consequences that the result could have on national politics, beyond the effects on the regional ecosystem. After half a year, the events that convulse the new legislature of Pedro Sánchez have erased the interest in clarifying the consequences, which we could address as an epilogue, of what that electoral event entailed in a geography in which a change of cycle to the right with harsh effects on the space on the left.
Was it a mistake to present Sumar on April 2 in Magariños a few weeks before the Valencian regional combat of 28-M? Let us remember: Unides Podem was a key piece for the continuity of the Botànic project, if the PSPV and Compromís did not reach 5% they would not be able to maintain a majority against the PP and Vox; All the surveys pointed it out. Yolanda Díaz presented her project and a raw struggle broke out with Pablo Iglesias, which resulted in a confusing and tense execution during the electoral campaign.
There are many former leaders of Unides Podem and even Compromís who privately report that doing so on that date opened wounds that demobilized an important part of their Valencian electorate. "Yolanda should have waited for the elections to pass," they agree in commenting, as a sign of an opportunity for success. The increase in votes and regional seats of the PSPV was not enough to compensate for the disastrous result of Unides Podem, a political force led at the regional level in 2023 by Héctor Illueca, who had managed to gain muscle in the 2015 and 2019 elections with wide representation in them. Valencian Courts.
Nor was Compromís, which bet heavily on Yolanda Díaz and positioned itself against Pablo Iglesias, able to assume part of the Unides Podem vote: in fact the Valencian coalition, made up of Més Compromís, PV Initiative and Els Verds, lost votes and seats compared to the previous ones. regional elections. But there is more, because the Compromís pact with Sumar, which seemed like a possibility of achieving more space and visibility in national politics, has not, so far, met expectations.
The Valencian coalition, on the contrary, is less visible in Congress, despite having two deputies (in the previous legislature only one), nor in the media (where Joan Baldoví was a regular at the big networks) and not has appeared as one of the regional forces capable of conditioning the investiture pact (see what the Canarian Coalition and the BNG have achieved with only one deputy). Compromís now depends on Yolanda Díaz fulfilling her commitment to force Pedro Sánchez to attend to the Valencian agenda.
At least, in Valencian terms, it does not seem that operation Sumar was a success; quite the contrary. On the national stage, harsh attacks are being outlined against what remains of Podemos, and some seem justified. But if we look at what happened on 28-M in Valencia, it seems difficult to maintain that Yolanda Díaz developed an adequate hypothesis of what her decision could generate in an autonomy that, until not long ago, was an example of an unusually good harmony of all the possible lefts.
The so-called "Valencian formula" led by Ximo Puig together with Compromis and Unides Podem served as an example and reference for all the Spanish left and to form a coalition for the Spanish government. All that has disappeared and it is still a sad epilogue to a Valencian 28-M in which the right regained a hegemony that could last for years.
