From Ciudadanos to the Catalan Alliance: the former Sant Just councilor who gives the Nazi salute against Arran

BarcelonaAt the height of the Catalan Alliance's rise, Sílvia Orriols's party has been recruiting former councilors from Junts and ERC who are dissatisfied with the paralysis of the Catalan Process, but it has also, surprisingly, recruited pro-Spanish parties such as Ciutadans, despite being staunchly pro-independence. This is the case of Kiko Ferrer, who headed the Ciudadanos list in the 2019 municipal elections in Sant Just Desvern and was a councilor for this party. He has also taken photos with Vox activists in this town in Baix Llobregat.

Ferrer made headlines this Wednesday for an action taken by Arran against his business to prevent its signage in Catalan. The businessman, owner of the Mile Monkey Burger restaurant, posted a video on social media in which he explains that the CUP youth wing has attached stickers to the establishment denouncing its failure to comply with the language policy law. After attacking Arran's "totalitarianism," Ferrer tore off one of the stickers, and after unbuttoning his pants, it caught on his butt. To top it off, Ferrer gave the Nazi salute. The now Catalan Alliance member deleted the post, but Arran recovered it and shared it on social media.

In a subsequent statement, Ferrer denied that it was a Nazi salute and that it was "a spontaneous expression of frustration and indignation at the impunity with which these attacks are repeated." "Any attempt to interpret it otherwise is nothing more than a crude and malicious manipulation intended to discredit me personally and politically," he added, attempting to defuse the resulting controversy.

This Friday, on his Instagram account, Ferrer announced that he was leaving Aliança after Arran again spray-painted graffiti near his establishment with the words "Antifa Zone." "I'm tired of being attacked for being part of Aliança Catalana," he stated, showing his party membership card and the restaurant's menu in Catalan. He admitted that he also has it in Spanish and that the sign with the opening hours is also in Spanish.

Before joining the Catalan Alliance, Ferrer ran in the 2019 municipal elections at the head of the Ciutadans (Citizens) list, a party from which he disassociated himself—or was expelled, according to sources—before reaching the midpoint of his term, becoming an unaffiliated councilor. His departure came after Ferrer apologized to the public during a February 2020 plenary session for the behavior of the party's deputies in Parliament. That same day, he also denounced bullying by the leadership after he abstained from voting on an ERC motion to recognize Oriol Junqueras's immunity.

"I feel like Lucifer within the party," he exclaimed, criticizing the pressure he was under. In today's statement, he sought to distance himself from the Spanish nationalist party, saying it was "a mistake" to lead its list. After serving with Ciudadanos (Cs), he joined the Catalan Nationalist Party (PNC), where he ran as number 9 in the February 14, 2021, elections on the list headed by Marta Pascal, which only garnered 4,560 votes, a paltry 0.16% of the vote. From there, he joined the Centrem del 'n' (Center of the 'n').

In the last municipal elections, he led an independent candidate, Som-hi Sant Just, which was the only one of the six lists presented that failed to gain representation. After obtaining 212 votes (2.5%), he issued a statement announcing the dissolution of the new party. "It's the most sensible thing to do," he said, acknowledging the failure of the operation. With the emergence of the Catalan Alliance, Ferrer has now become a member and was one of the names mentioned, given his experience in the council, as the candidate for Sant Just.