The number three of Podemos, Lilith Verstrynge, announced yesterday by surprise her resignation from all political responsibilities. Both those of the secretary of organization he held in the party, and the seat he held in Congress.
His departure, in fact, exacerbates the serious crisis that the lilac formation is experiencing, since the act of deputy that he renounces passes into the hands of Sumar. So the coalition Government will win a seat in the next parliamentary elections.
The dismissal of Verstrynge, for which the leader herself has omitted to detail the reasons, constitutes a serious setback for Podemos. In addition to being a position of the utmost confidence of the general secretary, Ione Belarra, the Madrid leader was at the head of the internal and territorial restructuring of a formation seriously eroded after the double electoral cycle of 2023, which, in addition to leaving Podemos outside the central government, he made it go from 47 to 15 regional deputies.
“Farewells are difficult and sad. I leave my political responsibilities and also the minutes of deputy. A thousand thanks to the militancy of Podemos and to the people who have trusted me these years”, announced Verstrynge through X (Twitter) in a message to which both Belarra and the former Minister of Equality did not take long to reply, Irene Montero: “Now the most important thing is that you take care of yourself and that you are well. Podemos will always be your home”; “The priority now is you. We love you and we will continue to walk together”, they dedicated to him, respectively.
The resignation of the record of deputy that Verstrynge obtained in the generals – within the list for Barcelona, ??together with members of Catalunya en Comú – entails her loss for Podemos, since the next person on the list is Candela López , one of the three coordinators of the commons. So the purple party, included in the mixed group, will have four representatives in the Lower House. While Sumar, the confederal group led by Yolanda Díaz, will rise to 27.
In this way, the coalition Government will be supported by 147 deputies, although the four Podemos deputies will continue to be decisive in the current parliamentary arithmetic when Junts abstains from voting in Congress.