A Leader by Delegation: Puigdemont's Big Problem with Sílvia Orriols

Everything started with the latest general elections in Spain. Without bridges between PP and PSOE, one of the parties that received the key to governance was Junts. This represented a paradigm shift in Waterloo; from being a party that practiced self-marginalization, Junts became a government partner.

As has been evident from the beginning, Junts, in connivance with a PSOE whose priority is power, opted for a hard profile. However, it was a profile for show. Enough time has passed for this to be undeniable: Junts keeps Sánchez in Moncloa because they need PSOE's hand in the Constitutional Court for the amnesty law.

This hard profile Junts filled with right-wing issues: repeat offenses, insecurity, migration control, cutting off resources to "menas," etc. As is also evident, Junts adopted this profile looking at Sílvia Orriols, who structurally divides the conservative electorate. According to the latest CEO, Junts loses seven deputies, which are the ones Aliança Catalana gains.

The Inoperability of the Leadership

Leaving aside that Puigdemont blames the referee and says the CEO is biased, the big problem Junts has is that their leader is perfectly incapacitated. Moreover, he is incapacitated on two levels: symbolic and operational. A different matter is that Junts's internal dissent has been silenced, and very well silenced, by Turull, who is Puigdemont's gatekeeper in Spain.

On a symbolic level, Puigdemont's processist laments no longer have any traction. The reason is that the CEO (which Puigdemont now criticizes so much) confirms that separatism is trading very low. But then, there is the great contradiction: Puigdemont attacks Spain day in and day out, while at the same time being one of the reasons for Spain's stability.

On an operational level, Puigdemont is a digital representation: a screen at party events or lengthy posts on social media. The proof that Puigdemont doesn't act as a leader de facto is that he did not accept the position of leader of the opposition in Parliament, which is an institutional position. Why doesn't he act? Because from the beginning, he fell into PSOE's great trap: amnesty. The trap consisted of taking Puigdemont hostage and pacifying Catalonia (the operation has been a success: Illa and Collboni).

A Complicated Legislature

With this scenario, Puigdemont finds it very difficult to face the encircling move made by Orriols. Moreover, Junts has made the classic mistake of right-wing parties that see the rise of identitarian right: contradictory equidistance. This way, Salvador Vergés says one day that immigration "collapses" the system, but the next day Agustí Colomines calls for "human rights courses" for radical imams.

Now, the big question is what Junts will do during this legislature. Their great challenge is not so much to oppose Illa as to oppose Orriols. The problem is that opposing Orriols requires using tools that Junts doesn't dare to use. After all, Junts pays the price of being focused on the judicial salvation of their leader.