The PSC refuses to turn the campaign into a two-horse race with ERC

BarcelonaThe Catalan Sociailst Party (PSC) does not want to turn these elections into a duel with the Catalan Republican Left (ERC). Yesterday the socialists poured cold water on the possibility of a debate between their candidate, Salvador Illa, and the head of the Republican list, Pere Aragonès. ERC wanted this debate to try to turn the election into a two-horse race and eliminate JxCat, the other main pro-independence party, from the equation. At first it seemed that the strategy worked, because yesterday Illa said early in the morning that he was in favor of debating alone with Aragonès, but finally he backed away. The PSC does not want to have to choose one rival over the other. It prefers that ERC and JxCat wear themselves out in the struggle to lead the pro-independence bloc, while it comfortably leads the constitutionalist bloc. This, according to socialist sources, can only have one outcome: victory.

The fourth day of the election campaign began yesterday with Salvador Illa leaning towards accepting the debate with Pere Aragonès. "I have no problem debating with anyone who wants to debate with me," he said at a press conference organized by the ACN, in line with what he had already said to Aragonès during Sunday's TVE debate. "What might happen is that I do not have enough time to individually debate everyone who wants to," he said. In the afternoon, however, the socialist headquarters put a brake on this possibility and insisted that the party will stick to nine-way debates: "We are committed to debates in which all candidates participate"

The socialists, who since the beginning of the campaign have concentrated the criticism of all groups - the candidate feels comfortable denouncing the "all against Illa" strategy -, are not interested in changing tack. "Illa has participated in two electoral debates and has three more on the agenda during the campaign", sources from his team remind us.

Repetition of 2017

The current scenario is increasingly reminiscent of the 2017 Catalan election campaign. Then ERC and JxCat were also neck and neck to win the elections and lead the pro-independence bloc, but it was Ciudadanos that clenched victory on election night. The PSC now wants to repeat the move, with the difference that it aspires to have the necessary support to be able to stand for investiture (the polls do not predict an easy scenario), something that three years ago the Ciudadanos leader, Inés Arrimadas, could not do.

For ERC, the 2017 campaign is a bitter memory, since it started out ahead and ended in third position. Thus, yesterday, despite Illa's rejection of the debate with Aragonés, ERC continued trying to polarise to the maximum with the PSC. The Republicans showed this strategy in all its splendour in the biggest socialist stronghold, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat. The mayor of the second largest city in Catalonia, Núria Marín, is being investigated for the alleged case of corruption in the city's Sports Council and ERC did not miss the opportunity. "This city has been living an epidemic for many years: the epidemic of corruption," said party president Oriol Junqueras. Despite the fact that Illa does not want to choose a rival, the Republicans will try by any means to capture his attention. To do so, ERC also has to try to convince public opinion that there is no possibility of a pact with the socialists after the elections. "We will not govern with them under any circumstances, nor will we accept their votes. We are openly incompatible", Junqueras guaranteed. Finally, they will not have the debate they wanted with Illa, but they will be able to exploit the idea that the socialist has backed down.

Borràs wanted "a threesome"

When at first it seemed that Illa did accept the duel with Aragonés, JxCat had to move quickly. Its candidate, Laura Borràs, claimed her right to be present. Her argument is that the polls show a three-horse race, not two. "The polls give us JxCat for the first time an advantageous position and now two gentlemen appear who want to capitalise on the debate. I propose to them: "Do you want to make it a threesome?"," she said. In the afternoon, when it had already been made clear that there would be no debate after all, Borràs raised the tone against ERC. In a rally in Mataró she warned that the "broad path" that Junqueras and Aragonès propose to achieve independence could end in a "dead end". If Illa does not pick one rival, it seems that he will have two.