Details
It was a well-staged spectacle for weary hearts longing for justice. Thousands of people from around the world gathered in Barcelona in mid-April for a“global progressive mobilization”. In a combative speech, the host, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, called for an internationally coordinated struggle in defence of democracy, social justice, and peace: The far right’s intimidation must finally come to an end; the left should go on the offensive. “We are proud to be pacifists, environmentalists, trade unionists, and feminists. Proud of our left-wing and social-democratic principles. Proud to be progressive. Progressivism is more necessary today than ever”, Sánchez declared to a cheering audience.
Boris Kanzleiter is the head of Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung's Brussels Office
The involvement of key political leaders lent the event global significance. The star guests were Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who must once again take on far right in the upcoming presidential elections in October, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sánchez is the last social democratic head of government in the EU who can claim to be pursuing progressive politics
The gathering in Barcelona marked an attempt to revive the weakened networks of social-democratic and socialist parties after many years of political irrelevance. Pedro Sánchez is not only Spain's head of government and Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) — he has also served as President of the Socialist International (SI) since 2022. Founded in 1951, the umbrella organization experienced its best years in the 1970s and 1980s, when, under the chairmanship of West German chancellor Willy Brandt, it linked European social democracy with left-wing governing parties from Latin America and Africa. Among those attending in Barcelona were the Progressive Alliance, which had split from the SI in 2013 under the leadership of the German SPD, as well as the Party of European Socialists, the social-democratic party on the EU level.
Whether it will actually succeed in strengthening international cooperation among progressive and social democratic parties remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that the gathering is providing much-needed momentum for the Sánchez government.
A Progressive Government
That is not a coincidence; it is part of a broader strategy. Spain’s pre-election campaign has already begun. Unless early elections are called, parliamentary and local elections will be held next year at the latest, and much is at stake. Sánchez is the last social democratic head of government in the EU who can claim to be pursuing progressive politics.
However, these policies are by no means solely attributable to the PSOE, in fact it is its left-wing coalition partners who are driving progressive politics. As is well known, PSOE is governing with the left-wing electoral alliance Sumar and is supported in parliament by several left-wing parties, including those advocating independence for the Basque Country (EH Bildu) and Galicia (BNG). Two members of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) sit at the cabinet table: the popular Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz, and the Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego. The PCE operates as part of the United Left (Izquierda Unida, IU) under the umbrella of Sumar, which provides two additional ministers. On top of this construction the government must rely on parliamentary support from conservative-nationalist parties from Catalonia (Junts) and the Basque Country (PNV), making governing harder still.
Although the progressive coalition only commands a razor-thin majority, it has nonetheless succeeded in achieving several of its objectives. Working alongside Portugal, the government successfully pressured the European Commission to implement a cap on gas prices, which had surged following the invasion of Ukraine. In 2023 and 2024, it also imposed a windfall tax on energy companies and banks to fund social welfare initiatives. Both initiatives are regarded — particularly today, in the face of disproportionate profit surges among oil companies — as models for a demand-oriented, socially conscious economic policy. Spain is also swimming against the tide in migration policy: in February of this year, the Sánchez government ordered the regularization of approximately half a million migrants.
The Right-Wing Opposition
The main opposition to the government comes from the right-wing conservative People’s Party (Partido Popular, PP), which emerged from Francoism and belongs to the European People’s Party. In addition, there is the far-right PP splinter party VOX, which has grown considerably in recent years and belongs to the same parliamentary group in the European Parliament as the Austrian FPÖ and the French Rassemblement National. Unlike in other countries, there is no firewall or cordon sanitaire between classic conservatives and the far right in Spain: the PP and VOX are already governing jointly in the provinces of Extremadura and Aragon.
Alongside the presidential elections in France, the parliamentary elections in Spain could become a litmus test for democracy in Europe.
Ahead of the parliamentary elections, there is a clear threat of a right-wing government if Sánchez and his coalition partners fail— a government that would draw on the historical legacy of fascist dictator Francisco Franco and commit itself to economic austerity. Alongside the presidential elections in France, which will also be held next year, the parliamentary elections in Spain could become a litmus test for democracy in Europe. The Spanish People’s Party aims to intensify cooperation between conservatives and the far right — already being tested in the European Parliament — and thereby set a precedent that resonates far beyond Spain’s borders.
In order to gain more support at home, the head of government is now relying primarily on international politics. Sánchez is attempting to position himself “as the anti-Trump”, explains Sato Díaz, editor of the left-wing daily El Salto, in an interview. Since the progressive government is currently struggling to score points with domestic issues due to the rightward shift in society, the Prime Minister is playing the international card: “Sánchez is doing the exact opposite of Trump. He condemned the kidnapping of Maduro in Venezuela. He condemned the kidnapping of Maduro in Venezuela, while opposing the wars waged by the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East in violation of international law. And he is seeking cooperation with China.” The calculation, Díaz argues, is that even the Spanish right harbours reservations about Trump, and that Sánchez can therefore find support beyond his own camp by pursuing a foreign policy that openly confronts the United States and Israel. However, Díaz believes that the high-profile confrontation with Trump also serves to distract attention from uncomfortable corruption scandals within the government’s own ranks.
Recent opinion polls appear to confirm this strategy’s success, at least in part. According to a survey published at the end of April, the PSOE gained just under five percentage points over the preceding four weeks, reaching 36.4 percent. It is now clearly ahead of the People’s Party, which stands at 23.6 percent, with VOX in third place at 14.7 percent.
Left-Wing Criticism of Sánchez
The same poll, however, also shows that the PSOE’s rise has only partly come at the expense of the right. Thus far, it has largely been at the expense of the more radical left. Sumar, the left-wing electoral platform and coalition partner of the PSOE, is losing support and currently stands at just 5.8 percent. The left-wing protest party Podemos, which was part of the second Sánchez coalition government from 2020 to 2023, has fallen to just 2.2 percent. At the height of the anti-austerity protests in 2015, Podemos had reached over 20 percent.
The far left in Spain faces a dilemma. On the one hand, it must carve itself out a distinct profile in relation to a left-wing Prime Minister; on the other, it must simultaneously develop a strategy against the threat of a right-wing government.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the radical left is not holding back in its criticism of Sánchez. Pablo Iglesias —the influential leader of Podemos for many years before his withdrawal in 2021 — points out that in the past, Sánchez had no problem cooperating with foreign right-wing politicians such as Trump supporter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado Parisca. Until recently, the Prime Minister had little to say about the U.S. blockade of Cuba, despite it being in breach of international law. And despite his rhetoric of peace, Sánchez bears responsibility for a record-breaking increase in the military budget. Moreover, the escalating housing crisis shows that there are serious weaknesses in Sanchez’s social policy as well. The losses of the left and the pro-independence parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country to the PSOE, as reflected in the polls, could have “a devastating effect” in the next election, Iglesias concludes in his online talk show La Base.
In this light, the far left in Spain faces a dilemma. On the one hand, it must carve itself out a distinct profile in relation to a left-wing Prime Minister; on the other, it must simultaneously develop a strategy against the threat of a right-wing government.
Marga Ferré of the Communist Party, a leading intellectual of Spain’s left-wing government, charts one possible path: “As part of the governing coalition, Sumar will launch a major initiative in the coming months for Spain’s withdrawal from NATO”, she says, signalling how the party seeks to forge a distinct political identity. On the domestic front, Sumar intends to prioritize the housing crisis, because it is an urgent concern for many people.
In terms of alliance-building, Ferré sees the need for a “new popular front.” Despite the rivalry between Sumar and Podemos, the two parties are running on joint lists in two regional elections this year. In this way, they are building on joint electoral campaigns of the past. “The electoral law favours joint lists of small parties, because they obtain more seats this way than if they run individually”, she explains. However, left-wing parties in the Basque Country, Catalonia, and other regions would also need to play a role in any future alliance. A similar argument is made by Gabriel Rufián, a leading politician of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). He proposes that left-wing parties should agree on a single candidacy in each constituency. Whether these appeals for cooperation will prevail, however, remains uncertain.
Translated by Diego Otero and Marty Hiatt for Gegensatz Translation Collective
