Junts will hold a primary process in the coming weeks for the general elections on July 23 that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, called by surprise on Monday. In the internal vote, the former Minister of Economy and Hisenda, Jaume Giró, and the current spokesperson for the formation in the Congress of Deputies, Míriam Nogueras, will face off, who has the support of the former president of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont, expressed today publicly. Thus, in the coming days the party leadership plans to approve the regulations for this internal process.
Giró has toured all of Catalonia in recent months, since he left the Government in October, and has met with local groups of the formation and has supported candidates in the municipal elections. Nogueras, for his part, presents as credentials the fact that he has been in charge of the post-convergent group in the Lower House since Laura Borràs became a candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat at the end of 2020. These are the two members of the executive that received more votes in the last congress and of two differentiated profiles, above all, by the forms. In Argelers Giró he obtained 1,648 votes and Nogueras 1,637. Just 11 difference.
In any case, the state of mind and the starting point of both for the July 23 elections is not the same after the results of Sunday night. In JxCat they face the appointment with optimism, strengthened by the victory of Xavier Trias in Barcelona and the general improvement of the results compared to the last electoral contests, despite some setbacks such as that of Girona.
In the municipal elections, the post-convergents have been the second force in votes in Catalonia, the most voted for independence formation, the party that comes first in more municipalities (342) and the only one that wins voters and increases the percentage of support.
Despite the good feelings, today the group reached out to the rest of the pro-sovereignty forces to articulate a joint candidacy for July 23, to "put the Catalan agenda and the Catalan political conflict at the center". For this there are ten days ahead and the Junts primaries, as the secretary general has assured, will not be an impediment.
Apart from the euphoria on Sunday, in JxCat they already asked for a "reflection" for the abstention of the independence movement. The first response of postconvergents is to make that offer. "Things in Madrid have to change, in Madrid with respect to Catalonia and the driving force must be the independence movement," said Turull, who assured that if it depends on his party that joint list option will go ahead.
Turull has assessed that "the demobilization that was already seen in the streets has also been seen at the polls", and has reiterated that "a joint reflection of all" is appropriate. "Today we are given an opportunity to rectify our self-demand," he added.
Thus, the Secretary General has questioned "all the pro-independence forces that want to put the Catalan agenda and the Catalan political conflict at the center", including the PDECat and the rest of the formations that have supported Trias' candidacy in Barcelona. However, the aspiration of JxCat goes further and wants to convince above all the big parties, Esquerra Republicana and the CUP.
"We have been first and we could say that we went out to win on July 23, but we must have a strategic vision rather than our own electoral vision," concluded Turull, who stated that it has already been seen that in Madrid, in relation to Catalonia, "it doesn't matter" if the PP or the PSOE govern. "We are open to exploring any scenario or any formula so that the political agenda is not whether PSOE or PP, but whether it is Catalonia or the State", he highlighted.
In Turull's opinion, "the independence movement can turn the elections into an opportunity to remobilize and start over." "We have already seen which strategy in Madrid has worked and which has not. The only base that has expanded is that of the Socialists," insisted the pro-independence leader, who, however, has not made a prior call to the forces to that he was heading
