Rufián i Orriols as a symptom

That Gabriel Rufián and Sílvia Orriols are the two most popular politicians in Catalonia reflects quite severely the situation of our politics and, by extension, the state of mind, the spiritual state, if you prefer, of the country. I will not dwell on qualifications regarding their methods or discourse, neither the spokesperson for the Esquerra group in Congress nor the mayor – mayoress, she says – of Ripoll. It is enough to remember that they are two populist and polarizing styles. By this I do not mean, in any way, that they are equal or comparable (Rufián does not use Orriols' Islamophobia), but simply that I do not find them to be examples of good politics, nor commendable figures. It is also significant that neither Rufián nor Orriols are national politicians, even though Orriols has a seat in Parliament. The popularity we spoke of they have achieved outside of national politics, understood as that which has Catalonia as its scope and object. Rufián has been in Madrid for ages. Orriols has his epicenter in the city of Ripoll. Where are the national politicians? Well, all of them below Rufián and Orriols, as indicated by the latest poll published by ARA. The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, occupies third place. And Carles Puigdemont, ninth (second to last). Oriol Junqueras appears in a not-so-bad fourth position. Furthermore, his party, which wins many votes, seems to be recovering from the dismal last electoral cycle. The problem here is another: Rufián is more popular than Junqueras both among the electorate in general and among Republican voters in particular. An insolent question for the leadership of ERC: in view of this, should the party strive to be more like Rufián or vice versa: should Rufián try to be more like the party? Let's add some other element. The capital change that is taking place in Catalonia is the meteoric rise of Aliança Catalana, Orriols' formation. This can change almost everything. One of the consequences of this growth, regarding the combination of forces, is that it will absolutely prevent a new pro-independence government in Catalonia. Whoever still has this dream should let it go. Forget about it for a long time. If it was already very complicated before, it will now become impossible. Neither the PSC, nor the PP, nor Vox will have achieved it. The voters of a party that, what a paradox, calls itself and wants to be more Catalan and more pro-independence than anyone else will have achieved it: Aliança Catalana. As can be seen, the general landscape drawn by the ARA poll – which agrees with other previous opinion studies – is between strange and bleak. And no, it is no consolation that in other places, near or far, they are worse off than us.

I mentioned Salvador Illa above. He and the PSC had everything in their favor to take off, but they don't. They find themselves anchored in a similar position to the one that allowed them to access the government at the hand of ERC and the commons. This not going up or down, this lack of enthusiasm for the president and for the party that governs the Generalitat alone also refers us to the not very bright, so uninspiring moment that we are collectively going through. The socialists promised to make Catalonia function after the years, they sentenced, of independence upheaval. When someone promises good management –which is the minimum that can be promised– and after two years the perception is not one of indisputable governmental effectiveness, but of a country on the verge of collapse, with its seams about to burst, one cannot expect applause.Another thing that Alliance will have achieved will be to relegate Junts per Catalunya, the political heir of Convergència Democràtica, to a scandalous fifth position. Those from Orriols have been vampirizing Puigdemont's party for some time, from where the majority of their votes would come. The structural weakness that Junts shows, which fails to present itself as a clear, solvent, and reliable project, helps a lot. Even less so exciting. Seen from the outside, it is as if Junts had not done their homework, as if everything were provisional and improvised. As if everything were pending and waiting for the leader, Puigdemont. As if they were relying on the day of the dreamed-of return, as if they were waiting for a new dawn. This weakness of Junts is evidenced by the fact that, in addition to leaving for Alliance, their voters are also leaving, pay attention, in the direction of ERC. It is like a sponge that not only does not absorb, but loses the water it held inside. There is no other party with a congregation with so many doubts.