From "the assault on heaven" to "it’s for you": the transition from the populist gamble of Podemos to the dialoguing politics of Sumar in Spain (2014-2024)

Spain’s political landscape underwent a radical transformation with the emergence of the newly formed party in 2014. Podemos' remarkable success in the European elections that year marked the beginning of a reconfiguration of the previously dominant two-party system. Initially grounded in a left-populist strategy, Podemos achieved unexpected consensus-building, momentarily appearing poised to supersede the socialist party. However, a decade later, Podemos has virtually disappeared, representing one of the most remarkable instances of political capital dissipation. Nevertheless, Sumar, which can be seen as its political successor both in terms of personnel and electorate, has assumed the mantle, maintaining political prominence while also significantly reshaping political discourse and relations with the Socialists, with whom they govern. This paper aims to investigate three aspects: 1) how has the political discourse evolved from Podemos to Sumar?; 2) how has the discourse of the Socialist Party changed over the years due to the presence of a formidable competitor on its left?; 3) how has the party system structurally transformed during the same period?