The four Junts candidates heading towards the Barcelona primaries

BarcelonaThe path to Junts primaries in Barcelona has already begun and four candidates are starting to move. As ARA has been able to learn, former Minister of Economy Jaume Giró is considering it, although, of the four, he is the one who sees the option of taking the step to run as the most distant. Lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas is finalizing his candidacy while waiting to speak with former president Carles Puigdemont, and the secretary of the Parliament's bureau Glòria Freixa is leaning towards running. All three would join the municipal leader, Jordi Martí, who a few days ago already formalized that he would run in the primaries, which caused an internal earthquake in the party.

Junts' Secretary General, Jordi Turull, met this Wednesday with people who had expressed interest in running –Alonso-Cuevillas, Freixa, and Giró, in addition to former Minister of Health Josep Maria Argimon, who for now remains out of the race, according to consulted sources–. Turull conveyed to them that there will be primaries if there is more than one candidate, asked them what they would do, and told them to do as they wished. Although the initial will of the leadership was to avoid primaries and choose a consensus candidate, the process will begin on June 1.

Triple scenario

Giró says he does not want to make statements, but sources close to him emphasize that he will consider it until next Tuesday. He has received multiple messages from people asking him to do so, even though he distanced himself from the party due to disagreements with the leadership. The pragmatic nature of the former politician, who resigned as a deputy and from the Junts executive, is valued within Junts. He was already sounded out in the past to be the candidate for mayor, and several members of Junts see him as a hope to turn the political landscape around in the municipal elections.

For his part, Alonso-Cuevillas assures ARA that the meeting with Turull "went very well": "I have the desire, strength, and enthusiasm, I believe I can win the primaries and regain the mayorship of Barcelona," he maintains. However, he comments that "he must have an extensive conversation with Puigdemont" before making the step official. The last one they had was in October. "I hope to be able to make it official in the coming days," he emphasizes, always after listening to the former president. Thus, he comments that in 2018 it was Puigdemont who offered him to be the candidate for the following year and that he had to decline the offer for "professional reasons." A "thorn in his side," he assures. The lawyer who led Puigdemont's defense at key moments considers that primaries are normal worldwide and sees himself well-positioned to excite the membership.

In Freixa's case, she had been thinking about running for months and is now "considering" it to bring "new faces" and "fresh air" to the party. After speaking with Turull, and once she has consulted with her closest circle, she is leaning towards running, according to her environment tells ARA: every day it is "more likely" and she is "encouraged." Although not sealed, the officialization of the candidacy is closer, with a view to June 21, when the eventual results of the vote among the thousand Barcelona militants will be announced. Freixa founded and chaired Òmnium Sarrià - Sant Gervasi during the period prior to the Process and during the effervescence after 2012. This led to her being considered as a convergent but also as a person linked to civil entities to join the list in 2017. Once Junts was founded, the former Barcelona leader Elsa Artadi commissioned her to set up the party in Sarrià - Sant Gervasi, and Freixa was its president until she went to the national leadership with Turull and was forced to leave her position in the district due to incompatibility.

On the other hand, the national spokesperson and vice-president, Josep Rius, preferred to renounce the battle, as he said, to avoid primaries that could provoke a feeling of confrontation within Junts. However, the internal vote will be held anyway in his absence. The process, which many internal voices consider to be

The role of the leadership

It is planned that the national leadership will "maintain neutrality", according to Junts sources consulted, like all "the party's bodies", and that "the membership will decide". The leadership has ended up making a strategic turn, given that at first it did not want primaries and opted for a consensus candidate – who was to be Josep Rius or a recognized person, even though along the way they have not obtained the "yes" from expresident Artur Mas, nor from businessman Tatxo Benet" nor from alternatives such as former minister Quim Forn.

Turull kicked off the internal process this Wednesday with the head of municipal policy, Joan Ramon Casals; the federation president, Joan Rodríguez, and the district presidents: on June 1, the Junts body that will oversee the proper functioning of the process – the Municipal Territorial Commission – will be constituted. Then, 20% of endorsements will have to be submitted, and on June 21 there will be a proclamation of results after the vote.