The word congress has once again circulated within Junts in recent days, although the possibility of one being held soon, as of today, is remote. The controversy surrounding Aurora Madaula, vice president of the party, has once again highlighted one of the weaknesses of the party after several months of apparent cohesion under former president Carles Puigdemont, with the negotiations with the PSOE for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez and the amnesty law as a backdrop.
The internal issues in the post-convergent organization, recurring since its foundation and also after the last congress, in which instead of a confrontation of projects there was an agreement between two currents – led by Jordi Turull, general secretary, on the one hand, and Laura Borràs, president, on the other hand, have returned to the fore after Madaula, also second secretary of the Parliament Board and close to Borràs, accused her party colleagues of “silent violence.”
In the pragmatic wing of the party, the anger is enormous and there are leaders who believe that the deputy should leave her positions in the party leadership and also at the institutional level. In this context, with an eye on the spring European elections and the parliamentary elections at the beginning of 2025, there are those who believe that a congress should be held to consolidate the strategic turn of recent months and guide the party for the next cycle. electoral.
In any case, for now nothing seems to indicate that a conclave is in sight. “Whoever wants a congress now wanted it a few months ago and a year ago,” say consulted sources. In fact, as is usual in these cases, the management tries to prevent the internal noise from being externalized and causing more tension, although Madaula’s words caused a lot of discomfort. Various sources attribute his complaint to long-standing discrepancies.
Talking about congress is nothing new. Before this year’s municipal elections, there was a desire for a second round of the 2022 summer conclave in the two souls of Junts. Some, with the hope that the victory of Xavier Trias that they predicted in Barcelona and the alliance with independents of the PDECat would lead to imposing their pragmatic theses in the party. The others, in turn, considered that after the departure of the party from the Government of Pere Aragonès, the incorporation of new militants and the departure of some members identified with pragmatism had strengthened them.
In summer, after the result of the negotiations for the government of the deputations, there were also war drums, but the decisive role of the post-convergents after 23-J and the fact that Puigdemont took the baton muted those complaints. With the former president at the helm, internal disputes are minimized. Furthermore, the management positively values ??that he is involved in the management of the party and in the negotiation of important issues. The official message is that he will decide on his future, but greater involvement of the now MEP in the organic life of Junts would be well received.
Be that as it may, now the JxCat guarantees commission has three documents on the table about Madaula. One from the deputy herself, who spoke in those terms from the lectern of the Parliament, and two others against her, one from the parliamentary group – signed by 22 deputies – and another from the feminism sector, which accuses her of using feminism for political purposes.
Madaula, now on leave, has to explain herself before that body, although three of the six members that make up it have left: the president, Magda Oranich, who clashed with Borràs a year ago, and the deputies Quim Jubert and Maria Antonia Batlle , who signed the letter in which the leader’s statements were discredited. In this way, the report remains in the hands of Josep Pagès, Héctor López Bofill and Mercè Alegre. As long as there is no text from the guarantees commission, there will be no movement beyond that made last week by the president of the Parliament, Anna Erra, who asked him to reflect on his continuity in the governing body of the Chamber in the face of the distrust that prevails between both.
In the national council that was scheduled for December 2 – it was postponed due to the meeting in Geneva with the PSOE – there were those who proposed presenting a resolution to demand that Madaula leave the vice presidency of Junts and the record of deputy, but only a resignation voluntary can have that effect. On the other hand, at the next meeting of that body, on January 13, a proposal from the management will be addressed, approved unanimously by the executive and the permanent, so that the independents of the PDECat who participated with Junts in the municipal elections can join. to the party with full powers and the right to vote. That, a priori, would strengthen the pragmatic sector and can help attract cadres now that the PDECat has lowered the blinds.
