Spain’s commitment to arm Ukraine opens a gap between the PSOE and Podemos

SPAIN’s commitment to send arms to Ukraine to help the country in its war with Russia threatens to drive another wedge between the ruling Socialist Party and its junior coalition partner, Unidas Podemos.

The leader of the leftist Podemos and Minister of Human Rights in the Government, Ione Belarra, has spoken out against the commitment made this week by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to send more tanks to Ukraine.

“First they told us that we were not going to send any offensive material,” Belarra told reporters on Friday. ‘Then they said we had to send anti-aircraft missiles, then we were going to send tanks and now fighter planes. What next, send Spanish soldiers to Ukraine? she asked.

Belarra was referring to the statements made by Sánchez on Thursday, when he paid a visit to the Ukrainian capital kyiv and met with President Volodymr Zelensky. The prime minister not only raised his country’s commitment to sending tanks from six to 10, but also did not rule out sending fighter jets.

Instead, the leader of Podemos called on the Socialist Party to reflect on sending more weapons, describing any escalation of the conflict as a “mistake.” Instead, he suggested that the government use its international leadership to move toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which sparked a year ago when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The war, Belarra continued, would only end in negotiations and a ceasefire, or a military confrontation between nuclear powers.

“I regret to say that we are closer to the second scenario than to the first,” he said, in comments collected by Europa Press.

The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who is also deputy secretary of the PSOE, said on Friday that Belarra’s comments were part of Podemos’ strategy to “differentiate itself” from the Socialists in the face of this year’s local and regional elections in May and the general elections at the end of this year.

The Socialist Party, Montero added in statements collected by the Spanish newspaper El País, “has always promoted peace.”

A coalition agreement was reached between the Socialist Party and Unidas Podemos (a union of Podemos and the Izquierda Unida party) after inconclusive general elections in late 2019. While there have been tensions between the two groups since it was formed a government in early 2020, have so far kept their commitment to serve out the four-year parliamentary term.

The coalition government lacks an active majority in the lower house, meaning it has had to negotiate with smaller parties to pass the legislation.

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