Neither Barcelona nor Girona. Neither Lleida, nor Tarragona, where he has held the mayor’s office. Nor Figueres or Sant Cugat del Vallès, where four years ago ERC had taken the leadership from Junts, finishing in second place.
The Gabriel Rufián effect in the Barcelona metropolitan area has not been so, although it has managed to consolidate in that area. In Santa Coloma de Gramenet, the candidate has only added one councilor to the three that the Republicans had and has not managed to ensure that the socialist Núria Parlon is left without an absolute majority. In the second Catalan population, in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, he loses a councilor. And another fact that hits the soul of those of Oriol Junqueras: from being the first force in votes, to being the third, a long way from the PSC and somewhat less from Junts. Up to 6% of votes has been lost throughout Catalonia. Only Ciudadanos falls more to lead than Esquerra by losing almost all representation.
Esquerra’s thumping is unbelievable, a debacle, and can be read as an amendment to the whole or a vote of punishment for the minority government of Pere Aragonès if one takes into account that the Republicans have presented more candidacies than ever: up to 804 own in the 948 Catalan municipalities and 11,700 representatives. ERC loses hegemony and authority and must be reformulated to avoid a new correction in the Parliamentary elections, possibly in 2024.
In the provincial capitals, formation has failed miserably: Ernest Maragall went from first place to fourth, with slim chances of forming a government in Barcelona; Pau Ricomà and Miquel Pueyo, current mayors in Tarragona and Lleida have no chance of repeating their position. Quim Ayats, in Girona, only aspires to be decisive in tipping the balance in favor of Lluc Salellas, from Guanyem –which includes the CUP–. In Sabadell they are second, but the PSC has an absolute majority. Republican Gaul is in Manresa. Or in Amposta. Little more. The multiple small towns in which Republicans have come out on top don’t make up for it.
At the Nord station, where ERC held election night, the faces were long. Junqueras, accustomed to triumphalist speeches, began by congratulating the winners, especially Xavier Trias. “It is evident that these results are not what we would like,” said the president of Esquerra, admitting that with the numbers in hand, his objectives as an independentist party are moving away.
Even so, Junqueras valued the more than 300 localities in which his party has won at the polls and expressed his chest that, despite being third in votes, he has managed to be first in councilors
