The theory of eternal return describes time as circular, the world burns and recreates itself, and events repeat themselves over and over again. The same thing happens in Junts per Catalunya with the internal debate on the pact with the PSC in the Diputación de Barcelona –the third most important institution in Catalonia–, which gains strength again a few weeks before the congress is held.
The sector headed by Laura Borràs, who will be president of the formation after the Argelers meeting on June 4, opposes it and wants to reverse it. The most institutional wing of the party and the mayors advocate maintaining it and continuing in the government of the supra-municipal entity, with an annual budget of more than 1,000 million euros.
When the agreement with the socialists was forged in 2019, it was already evident that it was an issue that polarized the post-convergent ranks. The break with the PDECat in 2020 and the creation of Junts have not put an end to the discrepancies.
The president of the Parliament has expressed more than once that she would not have endorsed the agreement and has opted on more than one occasion to submit it to the trial of the militancy in a consultation. But the pact, with iron bad health, has so far resisted all crises.
When the Catalangate was revealed, the matter again aroused debate within Junts, but the position that the party has defended is that the municipal pacts are on the sidelines, despite what Borràs says. This is how Jordi Sànchez, the still general secretary, defended it. With the congress on the horizon, the ball was kicked forward and the issue sneaks back into the agenda before the conclave and once again stresses the party.
The break with the PSC is not easy one year after the municipal elections. Local leaders reject impositions from the JxCat leadership and want a free hand to agree at the municipal level, also in the next electoral cycle.
The truth is that the agreement between Borràs and Jordi Turull to co-direct the formation from June raises doubts about the future of the party. Some leaders consider that, despite the fact that confrontation and rupture have been avoided, it is a false pact and they also warn that a joint project has not been agreed upon beforehand. All this will be dealt with in the second phase of the congress, in July, when it is planned to address issues such as that of the Diputación or the government agreement with Esquerra.
“There is no division for now, but there will be later”, pointed out a member of the current management, who predicts that with the Diputación “there will be trouble” and that it is possible that differences will begin to be seen sooner rather than later.
The day after staging the agreement, in two interviews, Borràs and Turull showed that there are nuances that separate them. While the next president of Junts wants to break any relationship with the PSC, the future general secretary believes that the scenario must be evaluated taking into account the actors involved, mayors and councillors. All in all, in the Borràs environment they are aware that it will not be easy to justify the break. To make matters worse, the Prosecutor's Office has requested the file of the case in which Núria Marín, president of the entity, is accused.
4
