ERC, Trapped in Its Own Labyrinth

Oriol Junqueras has the difficult task of appearing tough with PSC while maintaining Salvador Illa's government at all costs. This is leading the Republicans to drown in their own contradiction. The best example is the amendment to their own proposal of the tax consortium to get out of the singular financing predicament.

The problem arises from the fact that the Republicans set the bar too high for PSC during the investiture negotiations. Now they find themselves trapped in their own maze.

They have to defend the demand for compliance with agreements knowing that most of them can't be fulfilled.

ERC extracted from the Socialists the promise of singular financing, which they sold as a historic advance toward Catalonia's independence. Not only that, but they also forced PSC to sign an ambitious schedule with the transfer of full tax collection to the Catalan treasury in 2025.

Faced with the evidence that this can't be done, ERC has now opened the door to the intermediate formula of the consortium.

Rectification and Improvisation

The news published yesterday by Diari Ara caused a great stir. Especially because the Republicans had been very explicit in rejecting this formula during the investiture negotiations. They said the consortium was a "makeup operation" that de facto acknowledged Catalonia's "minority status" in its relationship with Spain.

The inclusion of the tax consortium in ERC's congressional power on March 15-16 clearly opened the door to this option as an intermediate formula. In practice, it meant acknowledging the impossibility of implementing the Catalan treasury by 2025. And renouncing singular financing and full fiscal sovereignty in the short and medium term.

Amid the uproar caused, ERC's leadership has presented an amendment to their own proposal.

The general secretary and Junqueras's right-hand woman, Elisenda Alamany, appeared yesterday to say they are renouncing the consortium and returning to square one.

Trapped in the Maze

Esquerra demonstrates that it is trapped in its own maze, having to demand PSC's compliance with agreements that can't be fulfilled.

On one hand, there is Oriol Junqueras's need to demonstrate that ERC's votes are not a blank check to PSC. After being re-elected, he raised the tone of the demands. He threatened to break with the governments in Madrid and Catalonia, and even refused to negotiate the 2025 budgets with the Govern.

But on the other hand, there is the need to keep Salvador Illa's Govern alive to avoid new elections.

PSC's government offers them the possibility of being influential while they try to overcome the moment of extreme weakness they are in. But at the same time, PSC takes advantage of the Republicans' weakness to secure their support without having to make too many concessions.

ERC thus finds itself in a position similar to Junts, unable to break with Pedro Sánchez's Government despite the repeated breach of their promises.

Junqueras Wants to Impose His Party Model

With their renunciation of singular financing, the Republicans demonstrate that despite the posturing, they will maintain their loyalty to Salvador Illa no matter what. The next step will be ERC's congress in March, where Oriol Junqueras wants to push his change in the party model. For this, he uses Joan Tardà, who, through the creation of a leftist current, wants to open the party to new sectors beyond independence.

Several presentations will be debated at the congress, one of which intended to sneak in the tax consortium. ERC will withdraw the proposal after the uproar caused, which only highlights that they are trapped in their own trap.

This model brings ERC closer to PSC and Comuns than to Junts and CUP. Junqueras was clear in saying he wanted to turn Esquerra into Catalonia's new labor party. For this, he is willing to even renounce singular financing, although he later backtracked due to the need to keep up appearances.