Oriol Junqueras aims to reach the extraordinary congress of the ERC, which will be held on November 30, with a clear support from the armed forces to become president of the formation again, despite leaving office on Wednesday. Last Thursday, the former vice-president of the Generalitat gave more details about his plan at a press conference: he will travel through Catalonia, listen to the citizens and the militancy and then decide whether to present himself to reinforce the position with a new proposal. . The goal is, he said Reconnecting ERC with social issues of the Catalans. “I'm not in a hurry at all, but I don't want to give up anything when it comes to helping my country,” Junqueras said, justifying his decision to temporarily leave the party's presidency. the European elections in June – to be able to talk 'one on one' with the bases during their listening process. It is not the same path taken by Secretary General Marta Rovira, who yesterday stressed in a letter announcing her resignation that she will not seek to repeat that responsibility and called for new leadership.
Carles Puigdemont, for his part, sees opportunities in the crisis that ERC is facing. The Junts leader and candidate for last Sunday's regional elections announced this on Thursday a call for independence to “not waste time on internal divisions.” Puigdemont, who left Spain in 2017 to avoid being tried and is now awaiting the passage of the amnesty law, has offered an appearance from Perpignan (France), where he believes Catalonia is experiencing a situation of “national emergency” . Junts and its leader are trying to capitalize on the bad moment their rival is suffering in that political space, presenting themselves as the only solid support the independence movement has. “The reasons for independence are more compelling than ever,” the government said former president.
His statements are a way to put pressure on the ERC so that the party rules out a tripartite government that would make the Generalitat president. socialist Salvador Illa. Puigdemont insists he plans to run despite needing a parliamentary pirouette to become president. He would need the support of the ERC and the CUP and also the abstention of the PSC, the party that won the elections with 42 seats, seven more than Puigdemont. Publicly, Junts claims that a repeat of the elections would not be a good idea, but Puigdemont himself has acknowledged that he is 'prepared for all eventualities'. If we have to vote again in the fall, probably I could physically campaign in Cataloniabenefited from the application of the amnesty law.
ERC will soon have to decide what it will vote for at the inauguration of the new one president of the Generalitat, whether Illa or Puigdemont appears in that mood. Junqueras has urged the PSC, Junts and Sumar Comuns to reach an agreement among themselves after “creating obstacles” for the Aragonès government in the last term. And they wanted to shake off responsibility for the ultimate meaning of the vote during that inauguration: “Decisions are always taken by the corresponding bodies,” he emphasized.
Although ERC also emphasizes that They do not want new elections in Cataloniathe date chosen for the party congress is significant. Junqueras has made it clear that this deadline until November 30 leaves room for an uncertain election calendar: “[los comicios] those that are known and those that are not known, such as general ones,” he added.
Junqueras is trying to reposition himself in the internal debate that arose after the 12-M electoral fiasco – the ERC collapsed and lost 13 of its 33 deputies – and to which president actor Pere Aragonès responded last Monday by announcing that he would leave the front line of politics. Junqueras soon sent an open letter expressing his willingness to remain in the party's leadership. However, a day later he agreed to leave the presidency, but then suggested it was a temporary resignation, and has now announced that he will make the final decision after that period of listening to the bases. The former vice president doesn't believe this represents a change in script and has denied pressure to make the move, making it clear he wants to return. “I will only do it if I have explicit approval. “I want the militants to tell me if they expect anything from me, which may not be the case and it would also be legitimate,” he added.
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