ERC has placed Ernest Maragall, ERC candidate in the last elections for Barcelona, as number two on the list of Republicans in the Barcelona demarcation for the Senate. This was announced by Oriol Junqueras, president of the party, at a press conference with Maragall. The new movement forces Robert Masih to appear as a substitute on the list for the Upper House.
Maragall explained that he is running for the general elections on July 23 "to respond to the State pact against Barcelona" and "to look him in the eye." A decision that the socialist Jaume Collboni made after making at the last minute with the command rod of the Barcelona City Council thanks to the collaboration of the commons, with Ada Colau at the helm, and the PP, and that left the government agreement on paper that Esquerra had signed with the head of the Junts list in Barcelona, Xavier Trias.
The Republican has assured that he will reconcile his functions as president of the Esquerra municipal group in the Barcelona City Council with those he will perform in the Senate if elected.
The idea of confronting the State was developed by Junqueras: "on Saturday we verified that when Catalonia votes the Spanish State vetoes". "It is an operation from the sewers of the State, but not only that, but also from the State itself, from its power structures", Junqueras stated before adding that "the PSOE, the PP and Sumar are tools for the service of the State and its interests".
"This is not the first time this has happened. Four years ago the PSC and the Comunes agreed with the xenophobic extreme right of Manuel Valls; today, with the extreme right of the PP to prevent a pro-independence government," the ERC president stressed.
Both Junqueras and Maragall have charged inks against the commons and Sumar, since they consider that Yolanda Díaz took part in the negotiations that have allowed Collboni to be the new mayor. But they have also issued a notice to JxCat. In this case, because of the possible pact that the post-convergents could seal with the PSC to govern in the Barcelona Provincial Council, with the socialists holding the presidency. "I want to thank the work of Trias and Maragall", stated the president of ERC, since it is an "element of hope", but it is also compatible with the fact that the Republicans do not "agree with what there is a pro-independence force that can give them the presidency of the Barcelona Provincial Council to the PSC", possibly and again to Nuria Marín. ERC absolutely rules out a pact with Salvador Illa's men.
In this sense, Junqueras has made an appeal to Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, whom he has treated as "friends" to annul any understanding with the Socialists in the supra-municipal body. In addition, he has summoned the post-convergents to understand each other to agree on programmatic points in the face of the July 23 elections.
Maragall has considered that the good understanding he has maintained with Trias is a precedent to fight for the unity of the independence movement in other areas. A demonstration that the republican has pointed out to reinforce the idea of Junqueras, and a position that is given after the words of Trias, who in statements to RAC1 has opened the door for Junts to shake hands with the socialists, despite taking these away from him at the last moment the mayor's office in Barcelona.
