Rufián says that yesterday he was about to quit and shoots against ERC: "We have failed"

BarcelonaGabriel Rufián considers the possibility of a unitary agreement to the left of the PSOE as practically buried, both in Catalonia and in the State, and admits that he has even thought about quitting. This is how he explained it in an interview on RAC1, with only a few hours left before the deadline to present coalitions for November 29th ends at midnight. The leader of the republicans in Madrid, very critical of his party's leadership, revealed that this Thursday he was about to step aside, but ended up discarding it because they "stopped" him, and also out of responsibility. Even so, he has acknowledged that he has not succeeded with his plans in favor of a unitary candidacy: "I have failed, we have failed. There are hours left, but it is very likely that it will not happen," he said.

"I do not consider it settled that an agreement can be reached, but you cannot treat people like idiots," he added later in statements to Congress. Rufián apologized to voters for having thought that, based on his electoral "strength," he could "drag" his party's apparatus and the rest of the left-wing formations along. "I apologize to the people," he said. The same people for whom he assures he has not thrown in the towel. "If there is a minimal possibility and there are people who might end up voting for ERC and beyond because of my presence, I must stay out of responsibility," he insisted on RAC1.

During the interview, the republican did not spare reproaches towards his own party for the refusal to go beyond the agreement with Podemos and also add the Comuns. "The party is not prepared? Not prepared for what?" he asked himself. "Then you do not represent the society you want to represent," he criticized. Conscious of the forcefulness of his words, he stated that what moves him is working for the party's electors, but not for its leaders: "My job is not to please whoever might be in an ERC office, but to place ERC in a winning position. I do my job," he said. Likewise, he censured the criticisms for the fact that he asked to place people he trusts on the list for the general elections. "Rufián wants to have people he trusts. And who doesn't? Doesn't Miriam Nogueras have people she trusts?" he said. All in all, in the end, some of the names the republican leader had requested will not be in winning spots. Be that as it may, he has closed the door to tearing up his republican membership card.

Sources from the republican leadership consulted by ARA acknowledge Rufián's insistence until the very last moment to try to have a coalition with the comuns in Catalonia. The party ruled it out from the first moment because, they explain from the executive, theirs is its own project, of a national scope, which has no vocation to be diluted in the amalgam of acronyms of the state's left-wing parties. From the party, they acknowledge that the relationship with Rufián has become strained, but there is an agreement signed by both parties that places him once again as number 1 for ERC in Congress and that will allow him to campaign for Podemos at the state level. But if Podemos and the Broad Front finally reach an agreement, from ERC they warn that it will be incompatible for Rufián to campaign for ERC in Catalonia and for Colau in the State.

Regarding the background of his electoral project, Rufián has stated that the plan "was never to lead the Spanish left nor to replace Yolanda Díaz", but rather to generate agreements between the sovereignist lefts and the Spanish left and to try to "optimize" the offer of these spaces at the polls. "The Broad Front is something that already existed: Sumar, Més Madrid... And that's that", he said. This same morning, furthermore, it has been announced that on October 27 the ERC candidate will publish with Ara Llibres the book How to beat the fascists (Read before voting), in which it is foreseeable that there will be more reflections of this type.

Be that as it may, Rufián has avoided direct confrontation with the other political groups, including the Comuns. Regarding Ada Colau, chosen to lead the Broad Front on November 29th, he said that he "respects" her a lot and that he only has "good words" for her. This Thursday, the former mayor of Barcelona regretted that Rufián had opted for an understanding with Podemos without a global agreement that also included the Broad Front, and this morning the spokesperson for the Comuns in Congress, Aina Vidal, accused him of trying to launch a "hostile takeover" of their political space. "The historic moment for an understanding between ERC and the Comuns was now. It will probably not be possible, and the Comuns also bear responsibility for this, as they have a leadership that is difficult to sway," Rufián pointed out.

Unrest in Podemos Catalonia

Rufián pushed ERC to sign an agreement with Podemos so that the purple party in Catalonia would not run. In exchange, the republicans would include Podemos candidates on their lists, but not in eligible spots. The pact, which was closed by Podemos at a state level, has generated unrest among the purple party in Catalonia. According to sources consulted, they consider that the state leadership has used Podemos Catalonia as a "bargaining chip". In fact, they believe that the leadership of Ione Belarra and Irene Montero has belittled the party in Catalonia, reports Mireia Esteve. Be that as it may, the winners of the Podemos Catalonia primaries who will go on the republican lists are Alejandra Sandoval and Maria Pozuelo.