Since 2012, in all Catalan legislatures there have been three pro-independence formations. In the May 12 elections, several forces are fighting to enter the Parliament flying that same flag and, at the same time, presenting themselves as an alternative to the actors already present –ERC, Junts and the CUP– considering that they are not close to the objective of the secession. They try to fish in the river of discontent, who in some cases abstained in the general and municipal elections.
The question that arises is whether there is a portion of the electoral pie for these formations, which will have to accelerate their machinery for the elections, with aspects such as the collection of endorsements – 1% of the census in each constituency. The advance, with all certainty, makes the scenario difficult for them.
Waiting for what the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) decides today at its meeting in Taradell, which has been in an internal discussion process for months to see if it presents what they call a “civic list”, there are several extra-parliamentary forces that have expressed their willingness to run in the regional elections.
Thus, beyond the ANC project – its debate has caused division and tension within the entity – which assures that it wants to declare independence from the Parliament immediately and attend as a group of voters, for which 50,000 endorsements, there is also the Alhora party of the former councilor and still JxCat MEP Clara Ponsatí – she is not a member of Carles Puigdemont's organization – and the philosopher Jordi Graupera. The driving team also includes the writer Anna Punsoda and the economist Ada Ferrer, who comes from the ANC.
The promoters of Alhora presented the party yesterday in Barcelona before the press and pointed out that they want to "renew Catalan politics and relaunch the independence agenda." They assure that independence “is a problem of public order that, well prepared, with the institutions that the country has, is possible.” They add that there will be no military intervention by Spain as a country in the European Union. In any case, they made it clear that they will not agree with other groups or with the ANC, with whom Graupera collaborated in 2019 on the failed Primàries project. In fact, Ponsatí said of the entity that it is naive to think that “a group of civic-minded people can achieve independence by magic.”
On the other hand, there is Aliança Catalana, the formation of the mayor of Ripoll, Sílvia Orriols, who in addition to putting the independence issue on the table also advocates for tougher control of immigration and focuses her speech on that aspect and security, which is why for which she has been labeled as extreme right-wing pro-independence and xenophobic by the rest of the sovereigntist actors. Vox, in immigration policies, agrees with Orriols, who had already announced his plans to try to enter the Catalan Chamber and had been working discreetly throughout Catalonia to obtain support, according to various sources. Aliança Catalana will have as a rival another similar force, the National Front of Catalonia, from which Orriols split.
All of these groups have confirmed that they want to attend on May 12. Political scientist Oriol Bartomeus, a specialist in demoscopy, believes that “there is a more radical and intransigent opinion group” than “until now it was in Junts, which criticized Esquerra's pragmatism and ‘in exchange for nothing’.” “The moment Junts enters into the logic of the pact with the Government, there is a part of that space that is free,” says the political scientist, although he adds that this public “is limited.”
Regarding Aliança Catalana, he highlights that it is a “very local” force and “it remains to be seen if it can be transformed into something more global.” “It is a project closely linked to immigration, and you can build an anti-immigration party, but for it to do well, that has to be the theme of the campaign.”
For Bartomeus, the most relevant thing is not the “success” that these parties may have, but the role they play in the fight between Junts and ERC to be the most voted pro-independence force, which he refers to “as the ability to do harm.” ”. In that sense, he highlights that Esquerra is better off with the emergence of these organizations, since, a priori, they would steal more votes from JxCat.
