The president of Junts per Catalunya, Laura Borràs, today resumes her public agenda at the national council that celebrates the formation in Vilalba dels Arcs (Terra Alta), after a few weeks in which she has limited her appearances and public interventions due to the trial she was facing in the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) for the alleged crimes of documentary falsification and prevarication. The day before sitting in the accused she announced that she was opening a hiatus that has lasted three weeks. This Thursday, with the trial already seen for sentencing, she closed it.
The truth is that despite the fact that on the first day of the trial there was a mobilization called by the formation, to which the general secretary, Jordi Turull, contributed with a letter sent to the militancy, the explicit signs of support for Borràs during the trial of the leaders who are not part of their closest circle have been rather scarce. Several accompanied her on her way to the doors of the TSJC, although others deliberately avoided making an appearance at Passeig Lluís Companys in Barcelona, where the Catalan High Court is located. There were also those who came and responded to the call, but chose to avoid the photo next to the suspended president of Parliament.
Beyond the concentration of the first day and the support expressed by profiles very close to Borràs such as Francesc de Dalmases, the former president Quim Torra, the organizing secretary of JxCat, David Torrents or the deputies Aurora Madaula, Cristina Casol and Ester Vallès, and others who went free such as deputies Joan Canadell and Salvador Vergés, the president's issue has been avoided in the Junts appearances. However, on the last day of the trial the party leadership, with Turull at the head, the vice-presidents Anna Erra, Josep Rius y Madaula, and the president of the parliamentary group, Albert Batet, discreetly accompanied her to the TSJC.
In the public interventions, the party's spokesman, Rius, has come forward requesting respect for the presumption of innocence and pointing out that it is a case of "political persecution." In private, the situation is different and the general desire has been that the downpour that this trial entailed, in which the other defendants have confessed and incriminated the leader, would end as soon as possible. The fear now is that the sentence will reach the gates of the municipal elections and could affect Junts, which faces the appointment with high morale and high expectations with the Xavier Trias project in Barcelona as its emblem.
In Junts there are also leaders who admit that there was or could have been malpractice during the period in which Borràs directed the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes (ILC) but adds that if it were not for her, perhaps the case would not have been prosecuted and it would not have been It would have come this far, along the lines of what was expressed a few days ago by the former president of the Parliament and leader of Democrates, Núria de Gispert, who pointed out that fractionation was a common practice. But in general the opinions are either black or white. The grays are not abundant. There are those who defend the innocence of Borràs, who is lawfare and political persecution, without nuances; and whoever considers that whatever happens, Borràs is no longer an electoral asset as he was before and that it is better that he leave as soon as possible after the latest events.
In addition, there are regrets about the possibility that JxCat will lose the presidency of the Parliament if it is finally convicted. "It has dragged us all with it and it can do damage to the project," says one of the sources consulted. Junts had that position based on the Government's pact with Esquerra that is no longer in force. For this reason, it is not ruled out that the Socialists, who were the most voted force two years ago, occupy the presidency of the Chamber in the final stretch of the legislature.
In the most pro-possible sector, they only see it as possible that the situation will go well for the party if she is finally acquitted and regains the presidency of the Chamber, but even then they do not believe that Borràs can be their candidate again. But that forecast is not widespread. "Her situation of hers looks very bad," says a leader. Likewise, in the pragmatic sector of training, the one that was opposed to leaving the Government openly, there are those who have been waiting for a resolution for a long time so that the leader steps aside. But there is nothing written about it and a leader of the formation ironized a few days ago in an informal circle that "the most convergent option" would be to keep her as president despite the conviction.
Anyway, in the statutes there is nothing foreseen for when the sentence of the TSJC arrives, which will not take long. Only if it is convicted by final sentence, the guarantees commission chaired by Magda Oranich – with whom Borràs clashed as a result of the Dalmases controversy in October – will have to decide if it is a lawfare cause or not and, therefore, if it can continue to lead the party or not, or who is responsible for making the decision. It was at the last congress, held this summer in Argelers and in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, when a safeguard was introduced for the leader.
On the other hand, the pragmatists believe that after the municipal elections and the matter of the trial, the formation should begin to address who will be their candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat in the next elections to the Parliament. There are two names that appear in the pools today, although neither of them has revealed their letters. They are Josep Rull, who is no longer disqualified, and ex-minister Jaume Giró. However, before the municipal ones, no movement in this direction is expected.
Despite all these cabals, the truth is that a certain internal peace has prevailed in Junts in recent weeks after a turbulent autumn due to the departure of the Government, which was followed by the Dalmases case. The tension and noise dropped noticeably and Trias announced that he would be the candidate before Christmas. The municipal elections next May bring together and focus all efforts on formation, which sees the elections as a key moment for the establishment and roots of the party throughout Catalonia. This circumstance is also taken into account in Borràs' environment as a guarantee that his detractors will not orchestrate any movement before the summer.
In that appointment with the polls, beyond what happens with Borràs, the course of the party will also be partly decided if the convergent former mayor of Barcelona, Trias, emerges as the winner, as various polls predict, which, however, In all cases they yield very adjusted results. It is the main hope of the most possibilistic sector, which has put all the eggs in that basket. In addition, the formation has recovered old assets that did not take the step when there was a divorce between Waterloo and PDECat through agreements such as those signed with Impulsem Penedès or Impulsem Lleida, as well as with various mayors.
