Spain : Sumar ministers silent on Polisario's calls to exit government over Sahara stance

Ya Biladi

24-04-2025

In Spain, the five ministers from the far-left Sumar coalition have remained silent in the face of calls from the Polisario Front to leave Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government, following Madrid's reaffirmation of support for Morocco's position on the Sahara.
On April 17, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reiterated this support during a meeting in Madrid with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.
«If Sumar is looking for a reason to break with the government, this is the most important one they will find», said Abdellah Arabi, Polisario representative in Spain, in an interview with La Razón. He emphasized the deep divisions between the coalition — made up of 16 small parties — and the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) on the issue.
Despite this, neither Yolanda Díaz (Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor), Ernest Urtasun (Culture), Mónica García (Health), Pablo Bustinduy (Social Rights and Consumer Affairs), nor Sira Rego (Youth and Children) have publicly criticized Albares' remarks.
Silent on the Sahara, Vocal on Defense Spending
The left-wing daily Público noted this silence, reporting: «None of the five Sumar ministers have commented on the Albares-Bourita meeting or issued any public statement. Their press teams simply referred questions to the party spokespeople».
Since Donald Trump's presidency, Sumar has also withdrawn from the social platform X, and Yabiladi found no related posts from the five ministers on Facebook condemning Spain's continued support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
As Público pointed out, Spain's position on the Sahara was not included in the coalition agreement signed on October 23, 2023, between Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz (then Sumar leader), nor was it part of the 2019 agreement between Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias that formed the previous coalition government with Unidas Podemos.
«Foreign policy is defined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Government», said Pablo Iglesias after the Royal Armed Forces' operation in El Guerguerate on November 13, 2020. «It's not appropriate for me to give my opinion... I must be cautious and respect everyone's areas of responsibility», he told Spanish public media.
While silent on the Sahara issue, the Sumar ministers have voiced strong opposition to Sanchez's recent decision — adopted by the Council of Ministers on April 22 — to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP.
Health Minister Mónica García said that although they are «a minority within the Council of Ministers, that doesn't mean we aren't a coalition». She added that Sumar «will continue to advocate for policies that go beyond military rearmament», according to public broadcaster RTVE.