Once a campaign is over, another one starts that catches many actors off guard. But the state of mind and the starting point of both is not the same after last night's results. In Junts per Catalunya, strengthened by the victory of Xavier Trias in Barcelona and the general improvement in the results compared to the last electoral contests – second force in votes, the most voted for independence formation and the party that comes first in more municipalities – they face the appointment with optimism, but at the same time they have ahead of them the task of holding primaries in a hurry and running and appointing a candidate for the general elections on July 23 that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, called by surprise on Monday, after the socialist debacle in the appointment of the municipal.
With the forecast that the elections would be held in December, as indicated by the calendar, in the formation there were leaders who were committed to electing a candidate for the Congress of Deputies and another for the presidency of the Generalitat, both aligned. But for this they were waiting for what happens with Carles Puigdemont. In fact, the former president of the Generalitat will hear the ruling of the General Court of the European Union (TGUE), located in Luxembourg, on his immunity on July 5, one day before the campaign begins. However, the TGUE is the first instance and if the ruling is adverse, the parties can appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
After Laura Borràs, JxCat candidate in the 2019 general elections, returned to Catalonia to be the de facto head of the list in the last Parliament elections, in 2021, the post-convergent group in Madrid has been led by Míriam Nogueras. However, in recent months there has also been speculation about the possibility that the Junts headliner for the generals is another figure and that is where names like Jaume Giró, former Minister of Economy and Hisenda, enter. In any case, Puigdemont has posted a photo of Nogueras on his networks, an endorsement for the lower house deputy to continue as leader of Junts in Madrid.
Be that as it may, the training will have to go through an internal process and decide which profile to choose for Madrid. It also remains to be seen if the Trias formula, uniting the entire post-convergent space under the same brand, is repeated on this occasion. There are those who calculated in Junts to carry out the same operation, after the disunity of JxCat and PDECat, almost certainly, would cost the post-convergents the first position in 2021. Yesterday, in fact, in municipalities such as Manresa the competition between the two brands led Esquerra to win and in other places like Vic the absolute majority was lost.
Last night, the convergent ex-mayor, in his triumphant speech, led the way. "Only by adding will we be strong to change things and make the country move forward," he warned. He said it just after addressing a few words of thanks to all the groups that have supported his candidacy, Trias for Barcelona. To Junts, PDECat, Democrats of Catalonia and Moviment d'Esquerres.
