Spain's hard left fails to unite before election, hurting chances of staying in power

Spain's hard-left parties on Saturday presented separate candidate lists for a snap election after talks on ‌a nationwide pact collapsed, reducing Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez' chances of staying in power at the head of a leftist coalition.

Spain's electoral system disadvantages smaller parties running separately, ‌particularly in less populous provinces, where fewer seats are available. The division could also ‌demoralise left-wing voters, whom organisers hoped to galvanise around housing protests and fear of the far right.

The Broad Front, a platform comprising several parties represented in the minority government, and the other main ⁠party on ​the hard left, ⁠Podemos ("We Can"), had been publicly arguing over the leading positions on joint candidate lists for the November ⁠29 election in Madrid and Barcelona, the largest constituencies. Long-standing animosities between former comrades-turned-rivals did not help.

"These ​past few days have been very difficult ... some people will be disappointed today, ⁠and for that I am sorry," Ada Colau, the former Barcelona mayor and leader of the ⁠Broad ​Front, said at her platform's launch event in Madrid. Podemos, whose lead candidate is former equality minister Irene Montero, had proposed open primaries to determine candidates' positions ⁠on joint lists.

But the Broad Front refused, arguing there was too little time, and wanted ⁠its own ⁠preferred candidates to lead the lists in Madrid and Barcelona. Podemos then made a separate pact deal with the Republican Left of ‌Catalonia (ERC), which ‌favours Catalan independence.