Madrid, Jun 10 (EFE).- The leader of the Sumar and Spain’s second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, said Monday that she is stepping down from her role at the helm of the left-wing party in the wake of its poor performance in the European Parliament elections.
Sumar, a junior partner of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in Spain’s governing coalition, won just three seats in Sunday’s elections, falling well short of its expectations.
Sunday’s poor showing was just the latest in a series of underwhelming election results for the movement in recent months, and stands in stark contrast to the gains made by right-wing and far-right parties.
Diaz said the elections demonstrate that “the underlying trend is that in Europe, international hate, in its various forms, has taken a step forward.”
“We cannot look the other way, nor can we pretend that these trends do not exist. The challenge today is greater and more complex than it was yesterday,” she said.
She highlighted that in two of the European Union’s founding members – France and Italy – the far-right has become the strongest political force, while in Germany, it is the second largest.
“These are the most notable examples of a situation of enormous gravity,” Diaz said.
Diaz will nevertheless continue in her role in the government and as president of the parliamentary group in Congress, she told a press conference in which she did not take questions.
“My obligation is to ensure that the progressive coalition government turns this groundswell of hatred and disaffection into a wave of rights and hope, because I am convinced that this government is the best tool to improve people’s lives,” she said. EFE
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