The second vice-president of the Consell, Héctor Illueca (Podem), and the Consellera de Participación y Transparencia, Rosa Pérez Garijo, have known each other since the early 1990s. They studied Law together at the University of Valencia, although each one had a different study plan. so they went in separate classes; yes, they shared militancy in the student union BEA and many debates in the youth of Esquerra Unida. Parallel paths that the passage of time separated and that has now brought them back together in the second legislature of the Botànic, sharing government with the PSPV and Compromís.
In recent weeks, their respective formations (and they as virtual candidates for the Presidency of the Generalitat) have separately started their primary process. Again, parallel paths that seem doomed to converge despite the reluctance of each other after a coexistence not always easy these three years of Unides Podem. A confluence that will not have an easy gear because the US understands that the situation has changed and will require more recognition before sealing a foreseeable agreement.
The purples have practically defined their candidacies for the regional elections with María Teresa Pérez, in Alicante, and Marisa Saavedra, in Castellón, strengthening Illueca's candidacy. For its part, the last Consell Politic de Esquerra Unida has already approved its primary regulations for which its coordinator, Rosa Pérez, is the great favorite of a process that, as was established at that meeting, leaves open "the possibility of voting for possible convergences with other political formations until the last moment".
An agreement that seems more for electoral interest than for conviction. To date, the relationship within the parliamentary group is correct, each one takes care of their plots and tries not to interfere. The truth is that the tension of the first months of the legislature, when it was decided that the parliamentary group would only receive the denomination of Unides Podem or there were some problems with the distribution of resources, has been lowered. "We try to get along, there are no confrontations, although this is like any marriage," says a source from the group.
This distribution of roles is not always easy, but a shared role is sought and the only deputy from the EU, Estefanía Blanes, tries to attend the press conferences after the Board of Trustees to offer her party's vision on any topical issue , not always coinciding with that of his coalition partner, Pilar Lima. In fact, it was in one of these meetings with the media that Blanes clearly stated that the US would autonomously negotiate its policy of alliances, considering that the stage of Unides Podem had been overcome.
The fact of not being the same party sometimes generates distortions, as has happened in meetings such as the Per un Finançament Just platform where the EU attends as an autonomous organization and claims its own voice. "We have never had the intention of becoming Unides Podem and for the EU to disappear," they explain from the formation led by Pérez Garijo.
Along these lines, sources from both parties point out that, despite the fact that each one has started their candidate election processes separately, it is normal for them to end up meeting. Esquerra Unida insists on adding Compromís to the agreement: "We contemplate adding more, not subtracting," they explain. The problem is that in the Valencian coalition it seems that the idea of going alone to the regional elections is imposed.
In the last elections that were held together, Podem and the US lost more than 170,000 votes compared to 2015, when each one went with its own acronym. However, given the current circumstances, everything indicates that they are obliged to understand each other. The problem is that Esquerra Unida understands that the situation has changed compared to 2019 when the historic formation, outside of Les Corts, accepted the conditions of Podemos, without much room for manoeuvre. "That was not an equal negotiation." The EU ended up accepting position 2 for Valencia, 3 for Alicante and 3 for Castellón, which did not come out. Thus, of the 8 deputies, 6 went to Podem and 2 to the EU.
"Now the situation has changed. This agreement must be reformulated because it is not acceptable”, they advance to La Vanguardia. And they value their presence in the municipalities and their greater number of councilors throughout the Valencian territory.
And what does Podem think of all this? It is difficult to know because in the purple formation they prefer not to enter into debates that, according to them, do not interest the public. “It is not good to be talking about things that are only of interest to politicians; the problems of the Valencians have nothing to do with power struggles”, says an authorized voice.
In this sense, they reiterate that their position has been clear for some time and that they have always been in favor of unitary processes. And they add: "Our contribution to unity is to talk seriously about politics, not to talk about ourselves, but about how to stop the extreme right and how to ensure that the Government of the Botànic takes root in the popular classes."
In this context, everything indicates that it will be a long negotiation with the risk, some sources consulted point out, that an agreement will have to be closed at the last minute, as happened in Andalusia, with the consequent result at the polls. With one exception, in Andalusia the electoral barrier is more permissive and, in the Valencian Community, that 4.63% that Adelante Andalucía achieved would not have been enough to continue having representation in Les Corts Valencianes.
