Discomfort in Junts: "The party is doing well in Madrid, but not in Catalonia"

BarcelonaIn Junts, the polls have not been good for some time in general. It is not only the latest CEO barometer, but since Salvador Illa's investiture as president, everything has been going downhill. This situation was discussed at the summit last Monday, reported by ARA, in which the secretary general, Jordi Turull, convened about twenty leaders, including mayors and heads of lists from regional capitals. "The party is doing well in Madrid, but not in Catalonia," was one of the most repeated phrases at the summit, according to various sources consulted. And it is not new: a large part of the party considers that Junts is functioning correctly in Congress, but not in Parliament. What is the criticism?

Turull listened to the local demands, which are shared by broad sectors of the party: "Things are not going well, there is no leadership in general in Catalonia, but there is in Madrid," say some leaders consulted by ARA. "People don't know what message we are sending," say others. In part of the party, "nerves" are perceived: "If you ask about Mònica Sales and Salvador Vergés, nobody knows them," say local leaders. Thus, some maintain that "Vergés has not emerged because he does not do interviews, he should appear everywhere and go all out, but part of the leadership is boycotting it because they don't want him to have prominence." Other sources agree, pointing out that "he is a future asset," but that he needs a strong boost that he is not receiving, and this makes him have little relevance in Parliament. On the other hand, there are party leaders who hold Vergés responsible for the lack of notoriety, because "he has not achieved" the objective requested by the mayors – who are the ones who have promoted him–.

Whether blaming the national leadership or the parliamentary group leadership, the fact is that, both in the local sphere and among multiple national leaders, it is concluded that the work of Miriam Nogueras and her team in the Spanish lower house has clear and recognized leadership, while this is not happening in Catalonia. However, the polls are not smiling on them in Madrid either and place them very far from both PSC and ERC.

To highlight the effects of repression, Junts decided to symbolically renounce the position of head of the opposition, which could have gone to Carles Puigdemont. In principle, this title is held by the leader of the main parliamentary opposition group. This should currently be Mònica Sales and, before her, Albert Batet. From exile, Puigdemont is not involved in parliamentary work, even though he is part of the parliamentary group. In fact, one of the hopes among Junts members is that a hypothetical return of the former president of the Government to Catalonia would also act as a parliamentary boost for the party. "If Puigdemont leads the opposition, it would be much more powerful in terms of projection and leadership, he could be a revitalizer," some sources maintain. "Vergés and Sales do well, but there is a big difference between them and Puigdemont," they add.

At the moment, it is not at all clear that when the former president returns he will want to take on this challenge, but numerous voices within Junts believe that the figure of the head of the opposition is key. Multiple mayors would have wanted it in operation since the beginning of the legislature and some think they are already late.

Unity for the municipal elections

"Sílvia Orriols is the only one who appears on television because she is seen as the alternative and is the only one with a clear message", lament Junts sources. One of the effects of Junts's low parliamentary presence is precisely that Aliança Catalana gets much more attention, especially when the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, opted some time ago to confront them directly in control sessions.

The municipal elections, in ten months, will probably mark a before and after for Junts, especially if the results are bad. For now, even critical local cadres understand that it is not the time for any internal revolt, because the party must arrive united for such an important electoral appointment. Defining the course and clarifying the message are the two key demands made to the Junts leadership by the local sector.