The Left group of the Diputació de Barcelona will today join the government of the supra-municipal corporation headed by the PSC with the mayoress of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Lluïsa Moret, as reported by La Vanguardia.
The understanding of Oriol Junqueras with the socialists and the commons was already more than on track two weeks ago, when the full body was constituted. However, it was decided to wait until after Sunday's general elections to formalize it, lest the date with the polls spoil the pact.
In fact, Dionís Guiteras, spokesman for the republicans in this administration, the third in Catalonia in terms of the budget, made a conciliatory speech with the socialists at the first plenary session of the Provincial Council and spoke of collaboration and opening a new stage, an indication of the pact that at the time other formations already considered closed.
The agreement will crystallize today in the Cartipàs plenum which is held at noon. Together, for his part, he will lead the opposition and will have an institutional vice-presidency. It is a matter of courtesy, since it is not included in the institution's regulations, but it is common for the main opposition force to have a vice-presidency to have resources and be able to represent the body. The previous term there was none because ERC renounced the one that was offered to it, but the legislature from 2015 to 2019, for example, when Convergència headed the body, the PSC had a vice-presidency with the mayoress of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Núria Parlón.
In the supramunicipal executive there will finally be the socialists, the commons, the republicans and two independent deputies attached to the JxCat group who broke the voting discipline and supported the election of Moret as president of the Provincial Council: l 'mayor of Igualada, Marc Castells - also vice president -, and Sergi Vallès, mayor of Torrelles de Foix and general secretary of the local Impulsem Penedès brand.
It is the circumstance that in the last four years the republicans have criticized Junts for the pact sealed with the PSC in the previous legislature. That is why, after Junqueras' promises during the campaign and the pre-campaign not to make an agreement with the Socialists in the Diputació de Barcelona - in the deputations of Lleida and Tarragona there was indeed an agreement between PSC and ERC -, yesterday Junts charged against his former partner in the Government. He didn't do it because he had reached an agreement with those of Salvador Illa, but because he had assured a few days earlier, in the midst of the electoral dispute, that they would not do so.
The spokesperson and vice-president of JxCat, Josep Rius, criticized that ERC announced the agreement after 23-J "so as not to worsen the results" and "hiding the decision from its voters". Likewise, he questioned the "honesty" of the Republicans. "The pact calls into question the honesty of Esquerra, its sincerity, when it comes to building a common front in Madrid to be able, finally, to invest Pedro Sánchez as president of the government", assessed Rius.
The post-convergent leader also recalled that his former partners have agreed with the PSC in three deputations after having criticized them for four years for the agreement with the socialists in Barcelona in 2019, and he emphasized that both in Lleida and Tarragona Together, the ERC had a sufficient majority to agree on a supra-municipal pro-independence government.
In the statement in which they announced the pact, the republicans justified that they are joining the "most plural government in history" of the corporation, but some local ERC cadres, such as the mayor of Arenys de Munt, Josep Sànchez, they expressed their displeasure yesterday. "Unfortunate, after criticizing during the last four years what Junts did in the Provincial Council...", said Sànchez. Where is the consistency with the values we preach?”, he questioned.
On the other hand, an agreement between Junts and Esquerra Republicana was announced yesterday to lead the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM), a municipalist organization that offers support to councils in different areas.
