Barcelona: the first step of a pragmatic revolt in Junts?

BarcelonaThe published polls are not favorable to Junts per Catalunya. The latest CEO poll placed Carles Puigdemont's party as the third largest force in the Catalan Parliament, almost tied with Aliança Catalana (now the leading opposition party), while in Barcelona... municipal barometer predictions They're even worse.

Together still doesn't have a candidate for the Catalan capital (neither does Alliance). It's one of those decisions that, since Xavier Trias's departure—who managed to win the last elections despite a subsequent pact between the PSC, the PP, and Comuns snatching the mayoralty from him—is still pending. It's one of those issues that has been brewing internally within the party for some time, becoming an internal knot, since depending on how things go, it could be the first step towards a pragmatic revolt within the party.

The problem for Junts is that none of the candidates in Barcelona seem likely to achieve significant results. In other words, neither Josep Rius, Puigdemont's right-hand man and a city councilor, nor the leader of the municipal group, Jordi Martí, appear capable of challenging Jaume Collboni for the mayoralty. Furthermore, they are at odds with each other. While Rius has the support of Puigdemont and the party leadership, Martí refuses to relinquish his position as the lead candidate after years of hard work in the Catalan capital (although, according to the municipal barometer, only 20% of Barcelona residents know him). In this context, the Junts leadership is waiting to make its move, because if there's one scenario it wants to avoid, it's a primary election—which it sees as more of an internal power struggle than a democratic process for choosing a candidate. For this reason, before making any move with Rius, they are trying to convince Martí, who has already visited Waterloo several times, not to put up a fight. The Barcelona leader is not the only one interested in primaries: if they are held, the writer Jordi Cabré could also run.

An alliance

To try and avoid a confrontation, the leadership—and Toni Castellà in particular—has spent months searching for an outside candidate with a public profile who could be accepted unanimously. They focused their efforts on convincing former regional minister Quim Forn, who declined from the outset to return to frontline politics. Former president Artur Mas—who is giving a significant lecture on Wednesday to mark the tenth anniversary of his stepping aside—has also been seriously approached, but he has rejected the offer. His candidacy would only be viable if it meant an undeniable restructuring of the Convergència space and if the polls showed him with a clear victory. The other name that has been seriously considered is that of businessman Tatxo Benet, who traveled to Brussels in December to speak directly with Puigdemont. So far, he has also declined the offer.

In any case, the leadership is aware that securing control of Barcelona is key, as it could become the cornerstone of a pragmatic revolution within Junts that would shake its power. If Jordi Martí were to challenge other prominent figures from the pragmatic wing, it could be the catalyst for the latent discontent that exists outside the party ranks. Some believe that Jaume Giró, despite having ruled himself out of the race, could enter the fray at that point. Would they defeat the leadership? It would be the first major test.