The former ERC spokesperson in Congress, Joan Tardà, has always been in favor of a left-wing tripartite and made this clear in February when there was not even talk of an early electoral in Catalonia. However, the Esquerra debacle last Sunday and the subsequent reaction of the acting president of the Generalitat and Republican candidate, Pere Aragonès, to step aside and announce his party’s move to the opposition have qualified the approach of Tardà, who now asks not to block the investiture of the PSC leader, Salvador Illa, and to form a collaborative opposition.
This is what he explained on the Cafè d’Idees program on La 2 and Ràdio 4 in an interview in which he also asked the leadership of his party for an extraordinary congress to maintain the current negotiation strategy with the State, despite the bad results -ERC went from 33 seats to 20-, if necessary with some corrections.
“It is about competing and at the same time collaborating because there are possibilities of building a path together,” said Tardà, warning that in his opinion Esquerra “should not block” Illa’s investiture and should form an opposition “of a collaborative nature.” And at the same time, the former ERC deputy, whose voice represents an important sector of the party, has rejected an agreement with Carles Puigdemont (Junts) with the argument that “he has not won the elections”, even though Aragonès did not win them either. in 2021. But he has gone further to reject this path: “What we cannot do is build projects of the tribe and for the tribe,” he warned in reference to the “nationalist” project of Junts, which he has contrasted with “republicanism.” of his party.
“It would be acting with the intestines and not with the brain if Esquerra now allowed a second electoral round, it would be to cut one’s wrists,” exclaimed Tardà, who has summoned Salvador Illa, whom he has referred to as “president in pectore” to “celebrate” the left. In this sense, he has considered it a “superior interest” that the PSC, in collaborative reciprocity, commits to maintaining the successes that, in his opinion, the Government of Aragonès has had and, among them, he has cited social investments in education or health or the defense of Catalan.
“ERC and the PSC must recognize that they are condemned to compete but at the same time to collaborate,” insisted the member of the ERC national council, for whom what is necessary now is “to build a solution that challenges the majority of the classes.” popular Catalans.” But “we are still in the infancy of this solution,” he acknowledged.
In this sense, Tardà has emphasized that “the Catalonia of 2024 is very different than the Catalonia of 2017” and that “national safeguard” challenges are now being raised, in reference to “the Catalonia of 8 million”, in reference to the most recent immigration. For this reason, he has claimed to be able to involve hundreds of thousands of people. “There is no homeland or independence if we are not able to include millions of people who barely know that they set foot on a land that is Catalonia.” “If we don’t do it, maybe no one will,” because, in his opinion, “republicanism surpasses nationalism.”
Regarding Sunday’s results, Tardà said that he doesn’t care if the responsibility lies with Aragonès or with the president of the party, Oriol Junqueras, but he pointed out that “it is advisable to do things well.” Regarding Junqueras, who has run to maintain the leadership of the formation, he has defended that “he has earned the right” to request the endorsement of the militancy to continue.
In any case, Tardà has demanded a congress from the Esquerra leadership to maintain the current strategy, if necessary with some corrections. “I would be sad if the leadership in a hurry tried to resolve issues that deserve the convening of a congress,” said the former deputy, for whom this conclave should serve to debate “what corrections” should be made to the current strategy that he considers “the good one.” despite the bad results: “No unilateralism and yes accumulation of forces and broad fronts to continue dialogue and negotiation with the State.”
The acting Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, has replied to Tardà that the Republicans are not “now” in the scenario of facilitating Illa’s investiture and has indicated that it is the PSC that must take the initiative.
In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Elena explained that ERC’s position “has become very clear” after its electoral setback: open a period of internal reflection and remain in the opposition as an “alternative.” For this reason, she has stressed that the Republicans are not “now” in the hypothesis proposed by Tardà, although she has specified that ERC’s position is not one of “blockade”.
