together closed the campaign with a call to concentrate the independence vote in his candidacy and asking the voters of the ERC, the CUP, and also the abstentionists, to give them their “trust”, beyond their parties or ideologies. In the final act of the formation held in the Jardinets de Gràcia, the head of the list, Miriam Nogueras, has assured that it is time to put an end to “submissive politics” and has promised an “uncomplexed” attitude in Madrid. “We have already wasted too much time with tables, blackmail and fear”, he exclaimed, just 500 meters from Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, where the Republicans have closed their campaign.
Criticism against Esquerra that the ‘expresident’ has also launched Carlos Puigdemontwho has assured that Junts is not going to Madrid to “save Pedro Sánchez’s neck” or to look for “crumbs”, and the general secretary has finished off, Jordi Turullassuring that they will not agree to anything in Madrid “in exchange for letting it be” or “transfers” or “personal solutions”, referring to pardons.
“The 155 Silver Coins”
In addition, the president of Junts, Laura Borras, has accused ERC of “preaching & rdquor; unity “only when the elections come& rdquor; and to say “yes to everything & rdquor; Pedro Sánchez, while Junts was told “no to everything”. Although the one who has used a tougher tone against the Republicans has been the candidate for the Senate, Toni Castellawhich has ensured that the dialogue table it has been an “absolute failure” and a “Trojan horse”. And, referring to the ‘peix al cove’ policy, he has shot directly at the ERC candidate, Gabriel Ruffian: “They have stolen the fish, the saucepan and the 155 silver coins”.
Junts and ERC made a feint of understanding each other after the municipal elections, with the pact between Xavier Trias and Ernest Maragall as the greatest exponent, but the new courtship did not last long. They no longer reached any type of programmatic agreement before starting the campaign, although the divorce was more clearly glimpsed after the failure of the negotiations in the Diputación de Barcelona. Since then, the strategic differences -more than evident- between the two parties in Madrid have resurfaced.
The challenge of abstention
One of the objectives of the post-convergents this Sunday is to repeat the play of the municipal elections and manage to outvote the Republicans. And, to achieve this, they need to mobilize the tired and disgusted pro-independence electorate that has no plans to vote and convince them that not doing so is a shot in the foot. This is how Puigdemont has defended it, who has assured that if he did not achieve it, neither “155 nor the King”, now no independentista can stay at home. “The judges would be delighted with a structural abstentionism,” the ‘expresident’ has defended in a videoconference from Belgium.
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Also Xavier Trias, from the same location where the municipal election campaign closed, has called for filling the ballot boxes. “It is important to go vote on Sunday. If we do it wrong, the punishment will last four years. We cannot take it as a joke,” exclaimed the former mayor and leader of the municipal group, who also recalled the pact between the PSC, Comuns and the PP to wrest the mayoralty from him a little over a month ago.
“The PSC is not useful for Catalonia”
And there has been no lack of criticism of the PSOE and your candidate, Pedro Sanchez, with the aim of deactivating a return to dual voting. Junts fears that the idea that the useful vote to stop the right and the extreme right are the socialists, as the PSC candidate appeals, Meritxell Batet. “Will Batet defend the language? Batet that withdraws the word from Nogueras for speaking Catalan? This is not a useful vote for Catalonia”, Turull responded.