Together replaces Albert Batet and places Mònica Sales as leader of the group in the Parliament

BarcelonaThe Junts parliamentary group's composition has been a major headache for the national leadership throughout this legislative term. While awaiting Carles Puigdemont's return and the question of what role he would play in the Catalan chamber, the leadership headed by the former president decided on Monday to replace Albert Batet as president of the parliamentary group and appoint the current spokesperson, Mònica Sales, to take over. However, this comes with a promotion for Batet, who will become Puigdemont's right-hand man in the leadership: specifically, she will serve as deputy to the party president and campaign director. Furthermore, party vice president Salvador Vergés was chosen as the parliamentary spokesperson.

The party made this decision at a meeting of its permanent leadership this Monday in Waterloo: Batet will step down as leader of the parliamentary group and become deputy to the president in institutional coordination and strategy, in addition to assuming the political and operational direction of the party's electoral campaigns in the Congress and the Parliament of Catalonia. Sources familiar with the change say she will focus on the party, as campaign manager in the event of early elections, and above all, on "preparing for Puigdemont's return."

On the other hand, according to a statement issued by Junts, Batet's appointment as deputy to the president "aims to strengthen the president's dialogue with the business community, productive sectors, employers' associations, unions, and all strategic economic stakeholders," as well as "acting as a liaison between the parliamentary presidency and managing all political and institutional aspects that Puigdemont wishes to delegate." Batet has already played this role throughout her career, especially since the decisive influence of Puigdemont's party in Madrid, where she has cultivated relationships with the business community in a context where the party has acquired stakes in several state-owned companies and regulatory bodies. "They're asking for him," sources within the party confirm, referring to the business world.

Triple bet

This move by Junts reveals a three-pronged strategy: in the Catalan Parliament, it consolidates Sales' position and elevates Vergés within the party in a renewal effort. As this newspaper has confirmed, the aim was to boost the opposition to Salvador Illa, based on the analysis that it could function better with an alternative in the chamber, similar to the one desired by the mayors. But, in parallel, the party has rewarded Albert Batet, who has always been Puigdemont's right-hand man and a trusted confidant, and who will always be part of his team. Sales will now have more freedom of action, and Vergés continues to rise as one of the party's "on the rise" figures, highly valued by the municipal wing. Many Junts mayors have long been calling for a leader in Parliament, and even for a leader of the opposition, a position that has not yet been filled pending Puigdemont's situation. Among their demands was one name they wanted to see rise internally: Salvador Vergés. With her appointment, it's also a step that addresses some of that demand, with someone with whom the mayors have a close relationship. The "face" they wanted has finally arrived, it's clear, in a decision that represents a role reversal that could be carried out without uproar, following last year's Junts congress, in which the party was "re-established" with the Puigdemont-Jordi Turull tandem, after the Laura Borràs era.

The report on the amnesty

Another point highlighted by Junts is that, in a context of "new challenges" and following last week's report by the Advocate General of the European Union, "which validates the amnesty law and the plausible return of President Carles Puigdemont," the party has decided to strengthen itself internally and make several changes in the Catalan Parliament. Batet had served as president of the parliamentary group since September 2019, and Sales became spokesperson in June 2021. Similarly, Vergés joins the party's permanent leadership, the core of the organization, along with the deputy spokesperson in the Catalan Parliament, Jeannine Abella, who heads the Junts per Lleida list. Both Sales and Batet have expressed their gratitude for their respective new positions, with a message to the leadership, to which, in the case of the outgoing parliamentary president, he added a wish of luck for the transition: "The leadership of the parliamentary group is in very good hands, with Mònica Sales and Salvador Vergés at the helm," he told X.