The Polisario Front is hoping that the backlash sparked by Spain's renewed support—expressed on Thursday, April 17—of Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara will lead to the collapse of the left-wing coalition government that has been in place since November 16, 2023. Abdellah Arabi, the Polisario's representative in Spain, voiced hope that the strong opposition from key figures within the far-left Sumar alliance could push the bloc to withdraw from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government. «If Sumar is looking for a reason to break with the government, this is the most important one they'll find», he said, pointing to the deep divisions between the 16-party coalition and the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) over this issue. Last week, Enrique Santiago, a lawmaker and secretary-general of the Communist Party—part of the Sumar alliance—reaffirmed «the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination in line with UN resolutions». A similar stance was taken by Toni Valero, an MP from United Left, another Sumar member party. «Spain cannot be complicit in the Moroccan dictatorship's attempt to annex Western Sahara», he stated, reacting to the April 17 meeting in Madrid between Nasser Bourita and José Manuel Albares. In Spain, foreign policy falls solely under the authority of the Prime Minister. Sovereign ministries—including Defense, Justice, Interior, and Foreign Affairs—are all led by Socialist Party officials. Notably, the government agreement signed on October 23, 2023, by Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz, then leader of Sumar, made no mention of Western Sahara—much to the Polisario's dismay. During the July 23, 2023 legislative campaign, Díaz had pledged to reverse Sánchez's decision to back Morocco's autonomy plan for the territory. Since March 18, 2022, the far-left coalition has consistently supported all non-binding legislative motions in both chambers of Parliament that denounce Sánchez's stance on the Sahara. However, they have stopped short of severing ties with the PSOE.
