BarcelonaThat at last Thursday’s conference in Elna former president Carles Puigdemont did not display the acronym of Junts per Catalunya was not a coincidence, but a setting already thought out for how he wants to face the 12-M campaign: with a platform of his own that goes further beyond his party. That is why the corporate color was different – dark blue and not turquoise – and the fund was dedicated to him – president Carles Puigdemont – and not to the party’s initials. For this reason, according to several sources consulted by the ARA, Junts will ally in a coalition with other political parties with a much smaller implementation – Democrates, Reagrupament and Moviment d’Esquerres de Catalunya – to take shelter in a common umbrella that rotates around the figure of the former president. In the next few hours – or days – the name of the platform will be closed. Official Junts sources have declined to comment on the issue.
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Why does the former president want to opt for this formula? To try to break Junts’ electoral borders and present his candidacy as a transversal one. “I am clear that the candidacy that I will lead will have to go beyond my party, Junts, and will have to incorporate support from other sectors,” he told Elna. Along these lines, this Tuesday in Perpignan a political agreement will be presented with other formations to promote their platform, although it is not yet planned to announce its name. Apart from the organizations that will form a coalition with Junts – Democrats, Reagrupament and MEScat – there will also be even smaller parties such as Action for the Republic, Estat Català, Alternativa Verda and Joventut Republicana. The latter, however, will only be in the political agreement that supports Puigdemont and will not formally appear in the coalition, according to the sources consulted.
The example of the municipal and Trias
The definitive name of the electoral coalition, according to sources familiar with the candidacy, cannot be exactly the same as any of the acronyms that form part of the coalition. Therefore, it cannot be Together for Catalonia. From here, there are different formulas on the table, in which the initials of the party can have more or less prominence depending on what is decided in the end. Taking into account the calendar set by the electoral law (Loreg), Saturday 30 March is the maximum deadline for presenting the coalitions and, consequently, the name of the alliances between the formations.
The example in which Junts would have more weight would be to repeat the municipal formula, in which the party – as did Esquerra or the PSC – incorporated the umbrella “Municipal Commitment” as an addition to Junts’ candidacy in order to that independent local figures could be felt reflected in it. It is not new in Catalan elections either: the first was Pasqual Maragall with Ciutadans pel Canvi in 2003.
However, Puigdemont also has on the table to go further and have the platform revolve directly around his figure and his presidency. The most recent example in this sense is Barcelona, where there was a candidacy that also wanted to go beyond the Junts acronym through the head of the list, Xavier Trias. The name was Trias per Barcelona, and that’s how it was reflected on the ballots when going to vote: there were no Junts acronyms and, instead, there was the face of the mayoral candidate. Some sources point out that Puigdemont could opt for a similar formula and, in this case, that the Junts acronym would have less weight.
Trias already presented a platform with its name
This way of doing things is not new for the former president: he is not an organic leader and always looks for a way not to be pigeonholed in his party. He took it to the extreme when he ran for the parliamentary elections in 2017, when he was still a member of the PDECat. That list was the seed of Junts, and half of the candidates were independent figures. Now, in March 2024, this scenario will not be repeated: Puigdemont does not want to replace Junts nor relegate the party leaders to the bottom of the list as he did with the Democratic Party, but he does want to go beyond the formation: d ‘on the one hand, building his own platform, and, on the other, with the members of the list. In fact, it is no whim that he opened a web page with his name on 12-M.
Although the headliners of Girona –Salva Vergés–, Tarragona –Mònica Sales– and Lleida –Jeannine Abella– are part of Junts, Puigdemont wants independents in starting positions. A desire that also worries JxCat internally: the more figures outside the formation, the less place on the lists for current deputies or other members of the party who aspire to be there.
In any case, party sources assume that there will be the presence, in the first places of the list, of relevant figures for the formation. This is the case of the president of the Parliament, Anna Erra; of former councilor Josep Rull – who is no longer disqualified–, or the former head of Culture Lluís Puig, the latter two members of the 1-O government like Puigdemont. Who also hopes to have a seat is Democrates, who will form part of the electoral coalition and this Monday announced Toni Castellà and Assumpció Laïlla as candidates.
Be that as it may, there are still days left to get to know the faces of the candidacy: there is time until April 8. How will they decide? The territorial groupings and also the Junts sectoral groupings will make their proposals, and it will be the permanent party, together with the leader of the list – Puigdemont -, that will decide the order of candidacy and also whether to include the independents. The Junts national council will ratify it next April 6.
2024-03-25 22:20:49
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