If there is a trend that the ARA survey confirms, it is that Gabriel Rufián is a politician highly valued by voters. Specifically, according to the poll commissioned by this newspaper, the ERC spokesperson in Madrid is the one who gets the best score and, in fact, the only one who passes (5). He is followed by the leader of Aliança Catalana, Sílvia Orriols, who gets a 4.2. The valuation of the far-right leader confirms the rise that all polls have shown in recent months. Both leaders are ahead of the president of the Generalitat and leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa, who gets a 4.1. With this data in hand, a first conclusion can be drawn: that one of the people, Gabriel Rufián, who has positioned himself as the battering ram against the far-right, is the best-valued leader, but that the leader who is the face, precisely, of the Catalan far-right is just behind.

Gabriel Rufián directly addresses the Junts deputies and shows them a 50 euro bill: "This is your flag, the one you share with the PP and Vox". And, afterwards, he lists one by one the parliamentarians who vote against the rental extension and goes up to the seats where Míriam Nogueras and the rest of the group sit to give them a dossier full of tweets against the political position of Carles Puigdemont's party. "I've removed the insults," he warns. In this way, the spokesperson for Esquerra in Congress defended the yes to the decree for the rental extension and attacked the Junts members for their opposition on Tuesday in the Spanish chamber. A staging that has ignited the relationship between the Republicans and Carles Puigdemont's party, but which, according to various sources consulted by ARA, has also not pleased some ERC leaders in Barcelona and Madrid who are wary of Rufián's methods: they criticize Junts' position on housing —they speak of "abominable"—, but they do not like the spokesperson's way of acting in Congress. In fact, not all Esquerra deputies applauded after his speech on Tuesday. Officially, the Republican leadership avoids making any comment.

Yves-François Blanchet is the leader of the Bloc Quebequès —the party that runs for the Canadian Parliament and is the sister party to the Partit Quebequès, which runs in Quebec— and a few weeks ago he received ARA taking advantage of his stay in Barcelona.

Salvador Illa fails to calm the waters among the educational community. Unions have called for up to 17 days of strike over the next two months in protest of the agreement that the Government signed with CCOO and UGT, but not with USTEC. Salvador Illa's executive, however, despite the scale of the protest, does not plan to budge and has so far defended the pact signed a few months ago. In fact, it has invited the majority union, USTEC, to join it. "An agreement has been signed that is the best ever signed," stated the president of the Generalitat during Wednesday's control session in Parliament. These words are in addition to those spoken on Tuesday by the Government spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, who made it clear that the Government will not amend the signed agreement, but will only put "arguments" on the table to convince USTEC, whom she also invited to join in "rolling out" this pact.

The Spanish government and ERC formalized the agreement for a new regional financing in January, with a presentation by the then first vice-president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, after months of negotiations with the Republicans. The pact was brought before the Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy (CPFF), where it was met with a resounding rejection from the regional councilors of the PP. The Spanish government, however, defended the merits of the new model for weeks and explained that it was drafting the law that would allow it to be submitted for debate by the parliamentary groups in Congress. Three months later and with a new minister at the helm, Arcadi España, the regulation has still not been made public, there have been no bilateral meetings with the regional councilors, and it has not yet begun to be processed. The debate has taken a back seat in the public sphere, especially after the falling out between Esquerra and the socialists over the transfer of IRPF collection.

"I ask for sanity." After the National High Court's decision to summon Jordi Pujol to testify in person, Salvador Illa has defended the former president and called on the justice system to reconsider the health conditions in which he finds himself. The head of the Catalan executive recounted a call he received last week from Pujol, in which he explained that he was very "excited" to attend the inauguration of the Pau Casals Year in El Vendrell, but that he was "weak" and did not feel "up to it" to go.

Pedro Sánchez chose Barcelona to make visible that there is an international left-wing front that can confront the reactionary wave led by Donald Trump. The Spanish president was the protagonist of the three summits that have been held almost in parallel in the Catalan capital, but Sánchez's choice has allowed his main ally in the State, Salvador Illa, to adopt a central role as host. It is not easy for a regional president to be received by a head of state and Illa has not missed the opportunity that Sánchez has given him to exchange words with some of the presidents who have visited the Catalan capital.

Junquerasism recovers the Barcelona federation. Ricard Farin, ERC's officialist candidate to lead the party in the Catalan capital, has won this Friday's primaries with 60.1% of the votes against the critics' candidate, Rosa Suriñach, who obtained 36.1% of the votes. In total, 72% of the membership participated, a figure exactly the same as a year ago, when the critics won by 14 votes. That leadership, which Creu Camacho had led for a year, blew up a few months ago when more than half of the executive resigned due to disagreements with the direction Camacho had taken. The internal rebellion has not benefited the critics, but rather the officialists have recovered a federation that had historically resisted the national leadership and acted as a counter-power.

Junqueras's movement regains the Barcelona federation. Ricard Farin, the official ERC candidate to lead the party in the Catalan capital, has won Friday's primaries with 60.1% of the vote (393 ballots) against the critics' candidate, Rosa Suriñach, who obtained 36.1% of the votes (236 ballots); there were 25 blank votes. In total, 72% of the membership participated, an exact figure to that of a year ago, when the critics won by 14 votes. That leadership, which Creu Camacho had led for a year, blew up a few months ago, when more than half of the executive resigned due to disagreements with the direction Camacho had taken. The internal rebellion has not benefited the critics; instead, the officialists have regained a federation that had historically resisted national leadership and had acted as a counter-power.

For weeks, Pedro Sánchez has been working to crown himself the architect of anti-Trumpism. And this weekend he will be its graphic image in Barcelona. The Spanish president will bring together several world leaders from the progressive space to confront the reactionary wave that continues to grow globally. The first handshake was with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both have starred in the first Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona, to strengthen relations between both countries and sign several strategic and commercial agreements. They will subsequently appear at a press conference.

For weeks, Pedro Sánchez has been working to establish himself as the architect of anti-Trumpism. And this weekend, he will be the graphic image in Barcelona. The Spanish president is bringing together various world leaders from the progressive sphere to confront the reactionary wave that continues to grow globally. The first handshake was with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both have led the first Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona, to strengthen relations between the two countries and sign various strategic and commercial agreements. The two leaders have highlighted the alliance and sent an international message in defense of multilateralism and peace in the face of Donald Trump's warmongering confrontation.

Ricard Farin (Barcelona, 1995) is a candidate to lead the republican federation in Barcelona with the Activem Barcelona candidacy, the list considered to be from the establishment.

Rosa Suriñach (Barcelona, 1981) is a councilor of ERC in the Barcelona City Council and a candidate to preside over the federation with the candidacy Construïm Barcelona, which brings together the critics.

In September, Pere Aragonès announced that he was renouncing his salary as ex-president to take over the family's hotel chain. At that time, he also explained that he would combine this task with his doctoral thesis at the University of Barcelona and also with teaching at the University of Vic.

Just a month ago, Juan Carlos I decided to postpone the trip he had planned to Sanxenxo – to return to the regattas – and stay in Abu Dhabi after the outbreak of the war in Iran. Thirty days later, the conflict in the Middle East has not ended, but the emeritus king has decided to leave the Arab country where he has resided since 2020 to receive an award for his memoir book, Reconciliation. The recognition is from the French association Lire la Société, but it is still surprising that the emeritus king receives an award from a country like France, a republic that values the figure and trajectory of Juan Carlos I when the Spanish state has condemned him to ostracism.

After the clash over budgets that were not even negotiated, the PSC and ERC reset the clock. It was in mid-March when the two parties decided to give themselves a new opportunity and resume talks once Salvador Illa withdrew the bill and Esquerra stopped making IRPF collection a red line. Since before Easter, therefore, socialists and republicans have been negotiating away from the spotlight that captured them before the debate on the entirety of the accounts. Talks are weekly and are conducted with secrecy. The deadline is July, but the Government is in a hurry and the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, has stated that the executive's wish is to have them validated by Sant Joan. Is this feasible?

Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero defended on Thursday from Barcelona a left-wing front for the upcoming general elections. The Republican spokesperson in Madrid was faithful to his most direct and, in some cases, provocative style. Rufián filled the auditorium of the Pompeu Fabra University with slogans to support his strategy to combat the far-right. These are some of those that summarize his speech:

What should be the unitary left-wing front proposed by Gabriel Rufián? Aware that his party, ERC, does not subscribe to the proposal, the republican spokesperson made an explicit request to him this Thursday: "I ask my party to lead this. And if it costs me my position, I'll go home." Rufián wants Oriol Junqueras' party to adopt the proposal and unite, under its banner, this confluence in Catalonia. And in the State? The republican spokesperson in Madrid has argued that Podemos should play this role: "Podemos can help these confluences." The second stop on his tour of the State has taken him to Barcelona, to the auditorium of the Campus de la Ciutadella at Pompeu Fabra University, alongside Irene Montero, Podemos's number two, who has taken up the proposal's gauntlet.

Gabriel Rufián's tour to defend his proposal for a broad front of the left makes its second stop in Barcelona this Thursday. The ERC spokesperson in Congress will sit down with Podemos's number two, Irene Montero, after a few weeks ago, in Madrid, his interlocutor was the spokesperson for Més Madrid, Emilio Delgado. In the front row, he knows that the president of Esquerra, Oriol Junqueras, will not be there – he has justified his absence due to "agenda matters" – but a small representation of the party's executive will be: the deputy secretary-general, Oriol López, and the deputy secretary, Laura Pelay.

In the survey by the Sociological Research Centre (CIS) last June, Gabriel Rufián first appeared as one of the names Spaniards considered as a candidate for the presidency of the State. The percentage was very low, 0.6%, but what was significant was that a leader of ERC, specifically the party's spokesperson in Congress, appeared in the predictions. The Rufián phenomenon has been growing over the months – in this March's survey the percentage had grown to 5.8% –, spurred on by his campaign for a left-wing front. All the sovereignist left-wing parties, starting with his own, ERC, turned their backs on him and the feeling was that Rufián was rowing against the current, even though he never tires of saying that what he defends is what he hears on the street and what the left has always been criticized for: lack of unity. And especially at a time of rising right and far-right. Sumar welcomed Rufián's proposal, but invited him to join the coalition that was already negotiating with Esquerra Unida, Comuns, and Més Madrid. A project in which Podemos, incidentally, is not involved. It is precisely for this reason that the person who has taken up Rufián's challenge is Irene Montero, the number two of the purple party.