“I see myself capable and strong to continue working for our country. And to do it, as always, from the place determined by ERC militancy, through the highest sovereign bodies of the party that correspond.” The president of the republican party, Oriol Junqueras, is this clear about his future role in the party in a letter to the citizens published on his website and in which, for the first time, he analyzes in depth the poor results of the elections. elections last Sunday.
Junqueras’ decision comes after Pere Aragonès’ announcement to leave the political front line as a result of the ERC electoral result. The president of the party did not intervene after learning of the fall of 13 ERC deputies nor did he accompany the acting president yesterday at the appearance to announce that he would not collect the deputy’s certificate.
Now, Junqueras addresses the citizens directly to admit that the electoral balance is not good and that the Catalans have withdrawn their confidence in ERC to continue leading the Catalan government. In this way, the Republicans must take a backseat and “enforce” Sunday’s third position “with all their strength” and “at the service of the country.
In his opinion, now “it is up to other protagonists to take steps to guarantee the stability and governability of the country,” which can be read as a position in line with that expressed by Pere Aragonès on election night, in his speech accepting defeat. , in the sense that ERC will not participate in a government coalition and, according to what was added by Oriol Junqueras in his caste, it will not guarantee its stability either.
It is worth remembering that both Salvador Illa, who needs your votes to become president of the Generalitat, and Carles Puigdemont, who promotes a minority pro-independence government, will not be able to count on your support.
ERC must establish itself, in Junqueras’ opinion, as an “alternative, firm and demanding, against those who want Catalonia to be the seventeenth autonomous community that is told what to do.” At the same time, they also reject “selling smoke” and are committed to working for a self-determination referendum to take place in Catalonia.
In a more internal key, he assures that ERC must begin a “new stage” in which “self-criticism” must prevail and rethink “what has not gone well.” In a message to his people, Junqueras proclaims: “We never gave up and we won’t do it now either. From today we start working to recover pride, courage and drive.”
In this way, the Republican president calls on the militancy to rise “strongly” from the electoral setback and concentrate on the European elections. The objective must be, he adds, “that in these next European elections the militancy takes a step forward, a step of self-love, a step to defend the future of Catalonia in Europe. “To defend our peasantry, who risk everything in Europe, to fight against climate change and strengthen the people within the European federal framework against outdated nation states.”
