Charles Puigdemont Now Makes Gestures to CUP

The election of Carles Puigdemont as president of Junts at the congress in Calella in October opened a new chapter for the party. The former president wants to turn Junts into a movement that serves as an umbrella for all the sensitivities of the independence movement. First, he wanted to encompass the space of Aliança Catalana, and now he is making overtures to the CUP.

With the intention of stopping the flow of votes toward Sílvia Orriols's party, Puigdemont ordered a sharp turn to the right for his party. Junts wielded the flag of migration control and a tough stance against insecurity. But this has earned him new enemies on the independence left, where they accuse him of being racist and far-right.

Once the conservative flank was covered, he launched into the reconquest of the leftist space. Last week, he received the CUP mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas, at the House of the Republic in Waterloo. In the meeting, they talked about Girona, but they also discussed strategies to revive the independence movement.

By the way, Carles Puigdemont was the first mayor who in 2012 proposed locking the containers with padlocks. Lluc Salellas has been the first to lock them, with the new smart collection service. Something that social media haven't overlooked, with all kinds of jokes.

Carles Puigdemont Embraces the CUP

Beyond the anecdote, the image of Puigdemont alongside Salellas was a nod from the former president toward the independence left after his far-right adventure. This very weekend, the former president has made a second gesture of affection that is not negligible. He has claimed Junts as "a positive alternative, faithful to the red thread of Catalanism."

The expression is not innocent at all, as it connects the independence movement with the most leftist and workerist tradition of Catalonia. It is widely used by the entire CUP space, but also by unionist and ultra-leftist sectors aligned with the processism.

By using these words, Carles Puigdemont is clearly calling on the more leftist space of the independence movement to join his project. "A project that excludes no one," he said, "that fights hatred and Catalanophobia and builds a country for everyone." It is also a way to defend himself against those who accuse him of embracing the far right.

The comments on his video show that despite his efforts, he will find it very difficult to convince the independence movement. They accuse him of opportunism for voting with PP and Vox in Madrid while flirting with the CUP in Catalonia.