Left-wing parties face deadline to form Spain’s Frente Amplio coalition

Parties to the left of Spain’s Socialist Party, the PSOE, are trying to form a coalition called Frente Amplio for the early general election on November 29.

They have until Friday to register coalitions, but have not agreed which parties will join or how candidates will be placed on their lists.

Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, from En Comú, has emerged as a possible candidate to lead the coalition.

Disagreements are especially sharp in Madrid, where Más Madrid wants to keep the top place on its list and has proposed Colau for the national leadership role.

United Left is holding a vote among its members to choose its lead candidate, while the Sumar movement backs its coordinator, Verónica Martínez Barbero.

Podemos is keeping its distance from the proposed coalition and has agreed to run with ERC in Catalonia instead.

That separate alliance gives Podemos an alternative as talks continue, while Compromís has also ruled out joining in Valencia.

The parties must settle their plans before Friday’s deadline.