The four groups within the ERC that threaten Junqueras

BarcelonaUp to three candidates applied to challenge Oriol Junqueras for the presidency of ERC: New National Left (NIÑO), Foc Nou, and the 1-O Collective (which failed to secure the necessary endorsements). Following the congress process, the candidates have become Junqueras's internal opposition and can now organize themselves into internal currents within the party. At last weekend's congress in Martorell, Esquerra approved regulating this issue, thus joining parties such as Junts and the PSC, which have long had this regulation. The Republican leadership has incorporated it into the statutes after negotiating proposals from Foc Nou, NEN, and also Ágora, the current promoted by former spokesperson in Congress Joan Tardà, and must draft regulations to establish its operation within the next six months.

In this way, the Republicans could have up to four internal currents, although right now only Ágora confirms that it will be constituted as such. In fact, sources from this movement explain that while the regulations are not developed, they will ask the party to recognize them as a "collective." Tardà's current is the least critical of the leadership and had not even presented itself as a candidacy; the former MP himself had supported Oriol Junqueras in the first phase of the congress, when the party elected a new leadership. But the objective of the collective is to open debates with ERC like those already raised in last weekend's plenary session: whether ERC should redefine itself as a a party that also includes non-separatists. The amendment was rejected by 56% of the membership..

What are currents for?

The PSOE and also the PSC have long considered this issue in their statutes. However, in the case of the Catalan Socialists, the internal currents that emerged at the beginning of the Process to defend the right to self-determination and the party's more Catalanist side ended with splits or withdrawals of members. This is the case, for example, of Avancem, the organization promoted by former minister and now member of ERC Joan Ignasi Elena, or also the party created outside the PSC by former councilor and minister Ernest Maragall, Nova Esquerra Catalana. One of the main risks for parties is, therefore, that internal currents end up becoming a kind of opposition within the party.

According to Ivan Serrano, professor of political science at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), internal currents operate with "the positive idea" of bringing internal democracy to a party; However, leaderships must be vigilant to ensure they are not perceived as internally divided. Political scientist Pablo Simón points out that the executive committees of the parties should be specifically responsible for ensuring that these opinion groups function as "a system for channeling disagreement within the organization and not causing ruptures." However, he also adds that depending on how they are regulated internally, the currents may feel more or less useful, more or less listened to, and this can help contain (or not) internal dissent.

The internal current of the Socialist Left has been present in the PSOE for years, even presenting a candidate in the elections to choose the general secretary. They do not have reserved seats within the governing bodies, and their only mechanism of internal influence is the amendments they can present to the texts debated at party congresses. According to the Socialists' internal regulations, the federal committee must authorize the formation of new opinion currents if requested by at least 5% of members belonging to at least five different regional federations.

Aside from the PSC, only Junts has this issue regulated in Catalonia—the rest of the parties have not incorporated it into their statutes. In the case of Carles Puigdemont's party, there are up to three: "the liberal, the social democratic, and the left." This is included in the party's own regulations on the matter, which also establish that a "coordination committee" of these three bodies will be responsible for "integrating the various political debates" within the party and transmitting them to the executive branch. Furthermore, these regulations also allow the creation of new internal currents if requested by 5% of members and approved by the national council. In ERC, this percentage is reduced to 3%.

Neither the New National Left, nor Foc Nou, nor the 1-O Collective have yet decided whether to form an internal movement, according to sources from all three sectors who spoke to ARA. What they are clear about is that they will continue to oppose Junqueras. The candidacy of Xavier Godàs and Alba Camps is about to open the debate, and they hope the leadership will count on them to draft the regulations. However, sources from the Republican leadership explain that they have not made any decision on who will form part of the drafting committee that must draft these regulations. This committee must be appointed by the executive branch, and the regulations should be presented to the national council by September at the latest. Foc Nou and the 1-O Collective must also open the debate in the coming weeks, and one of the factors that could influence their decisions is how these movements end up being regulated.

"Party leaders would like there to be no internal currents, but regulating them is precisely a mechanism to avoid rupture so that everyone feels represented," Simón argues. However, Serrano differentiates the internal currents that serve to channel a party's ideological diversity from the case of ERC, where he believes there is no very marked ideological discrepancy, but rather the difference lies in the "strategic direction." And in this case, it remains to be seen whether the figure of the currents serves to quell the internal crisis of the Republicans.