Launch without a leader. The alternative list to Oriol Junqueras to lead the ERC was presented this Thursday in Barcelona without yet announcing who its candidates are to preside and assume the secretary general of the party. Contrary to the personalism that, according to them, symbolizes the candidacy for re-election of the candidate, Junqueras’ critics have claimed a “collective” candidacy.
The spokespeople for “Nova Esquerra Nacional” in its first act were the mayor of Manresa (Barcelona), Marc Aloy; the former deputy in Parliament Alba Camps; the former mayor of Vilassar de Dalt (Barcelona), Xavier Godà s, and the former councilor of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and ERC deputy in Congress Teresa Jordà . She was the only former councilor to attend the event, which was attended by the former president and current vice-president of Parliament Raquel Sans and the leader Marta Vilaret.
The list is presented as innovative and has avoided force against Junqueras. The criticism has been rather discreet. The explicit mention of the former president has been to invite him to “contribute from a different role”. Without naming Junqueras but attacking the former leader, the candidates for his succession have advocated for a party that does not revolve “around a single person”. “People must be at the service of the organization; not the organization at the service of the people”, they elaborated.
Without hiding its differences, the alternative list has avoided open hostility with the other candidacy to avoid the return of the common Cainite struggles in the history of the ERC and the congresses between families of the formation. All this despite the fact that there are divergences between Junqueras and the candidates, even on the date on which the conclave that will resolve the dispute should be held.
Although it was initially scheduled for November 30 due to the uncertainty about a possible electoral repeat, Junqueras’s relatives have asked to bring forward the congress, considering that, by statute, it must take place within three months of the resignation of June 10 former president and candidate to revalidate the position. The renovators, on the other hand, demand that the date of November 30 be maintained.
After a meeting this Wednesday between representatives of the Junqueras candidacy and the interim leadership of the ERC, it was decided to wait for a legal report from the party’s Guarantees Commission before making a definitive decision on the date of the conclave, whose celebration coincides with a Year An important moment for the government of Salvador Illa and the government of Pedro Sánchez is the presentation and negotiation of the respective budgets.
