This Saturday, at 9:00 AM, the political commission of the Socialist Party (PS) will meet - virtually. This is the first political discussion meeting of the party since José Antonio Kast assumed the presidency. The main objective is to address the programmatic conference they plan to hold this year, but it also promises to be a platform to discuss the projection of socialists as the opposition.

In January of this year, the party president, Senator Paulina Vodanovic, already set the direction. At the central committee meeting held in mid-January, she called on socialist members to be the responsible left in opposition: one capable of driving change and reaching agreements with the government while remaining vigilant against potential social setbacks. She and the senator group have already demonstrated this stance.

Overall, Democratic Socialism reached an agreement with the right to secure the presidency of the Senate. This understanding excluded the Communist Party (PC), the Broad Front (FA), and even the Christian Democracy (DC). In response, these parties grouped together in a new committee to counterbalance the PS and the PPD.

In the Chamber of Deputies, the situation is different. Socialist deputies decided not to negotiate with the right, unlike the PPD and the DC, who were included in the administrative agreement. What was the result?

A disaster for the PS. Their parliamentary leader, Raúl Leiva, stated that “that negotiation was a mistake. In all the…

In the end, we have no influence. ” Although the parliamentary group regrets the outcome, they defend their strategy of not negotiating with the right. The deputies emphasize that they were not willing for the PS to be labeled as the party that broke the unity of the left in the Chamber.

Additionally, differences have emerged within the party regarding the tone of addressing Kast. The clearest example was when Deputy Daniel Manouchehri announced that he would file a complaint with the Comptroller's Office against the First Lady, Pía Adriasola, for serving lunches at La Moneda. Although the episode was questioned by various sectors, within the PS - especially among the deputies - there are those who support continuing in the oppositional line of the parliamentarian, who was the most voted deputy in the last election.

“Manouchehri is not mistaken. The scrutiny of the highest authorities is much more demanding,” said Deputy Leiva. The party recalls that, a month after Sebastián Piñera assumed his second term, it was socialist deputies - along with some from the PC - who filed a request with the Comptroller's Office to halt the appointment of the then-president's brother, Pablo Piñera, as ambassador of Chile to Argentina.

In this sense, they suggest it should not be surprising that the first attacks against Kast originate in the Chamber, as it is the body responsible for oversight. With this background, within the PS, two attitudes are projected to face the opposition: that of Vodanovic and that of Manouchehri. The senator and the deputy were seen talking this Wednesday in Congress, following the disastrous agreement on the committees in the Chamber.

The differences between Manouchehri and Vodanovic are not just about style. The deputy has been the most explicit advocate for strengthening the alliance between the PS and the Broad Front. This is an approach that former minister Álvaro Elizalde has also sought.

In contrast, the party leader maintains distance from Constanza Martínez's party. In fact, she was the one who called for a meeting without them - and without the PC - during the summer. In the third way, the current to which Vodanovic belongs, they identify that the composition of the committees in the Chamber will ultimately impact leadership within the parliamentary group.

They see that Manouchehri and Juan Santana - who was the negotiator - have been weakened, creating an opportunity for Leiva, who is now the head of the group, to take on a more prominent role. Leiva has been characterized as one of the more moderate voices within socialism in the Chamber. In this new legislative period, he would have an ally: debuting deputy Carolina Cucumides, who is close to the third way and is considering joining the PS.

In this regard, some in the group believe she could help align the deputies with the tone set by Vodanovic.