Man speaking at a podium with the "esquerra.cat" logo on a yellow background.
POLITICS

A Local ERC Leader Challenges Oriol Junqueras and His Pact Policy with PSC

Gabriel Fernández has asked his party to withdraw their support for the government if they don't dismiss the director of the Casa de Perpiñán

Oriol Junqueras staged the supposed unity under which he wants to lead the party's new phase at the congressional debate in Martorell ten days ago. However, he is still far from rebuilding a broken and directionless party. The scandal involving the director of the Casa de Perpiñán has reopened the internal wound of ERC's pacts with PSC.

A man on a stage speaking at a conference with a large sign behind him that says
Junqueras Wanted to Show Unity at the Martorell Congress | ERC

ERC's spokesperson in Sabadell, Gabriel Fernández, has publicly requested breaking with the Govern until the director of the Casa de Perpiñán is dismissed. Beyond the controversy over Northern Catalonia, it is important because it challenges the pact strategy maintained by the republican leadership. A strategy that is increasingly difficult for Oriol Junqueras to justify.

The Alliance with PSC Wavers

Gabriel Fernández's criticism hurts the leadership because it exposes the internal division over the pacts with the socialists. Besides being a spokesperson in Sabadell, Fernández is a prominent leader of the critical faction Foc Nou.

In a tweet, he has asked ERC, Junts, and CUP not to vote alongside PSC "until they rectify and dismiss" Christopher Daniel Person. The independents are demanding Person's dismissal as the Generalitat's representative in Perpiñán for refusing to use the term "Northern Catalonia." Fernández has received many messages of support, urging ERC's leadership to move from words to actions.

A man with light hair and a light beard is sitting in front of a microphone in a conference room, wearing a dark suit and a red tie.
Christopher Daniel Person, representative of the Generalitat in Perpignan | Parlament

Gabriel Fernández's tweet comes at a very delicate moment in the relations between ERC and PSC. The crisis became evident this Tuesday, in the monographic session on Rodalies, where Esquerra requested the disapproval of the Territory Councilor, Sílvia Paneque. Although a breakup seems difficult, ERC finds it increasingly hard to justify to its electorate the continued support of socialist governments.

Meanwhile, the tweet highlights the difficulty of harmoniously integrating the critical factions into the party's new structure. It should also be remembered that Oriol Junqueras was elected by a very narrow margin at the December congress.

Junqueras's Turbulent Mandate

It is evident that there is anything but unity in ERC, and Oriol Junqueras faces a turbulent mandate with continuous internal criticism.

The president of ERC currently has several problems on the table. Like the wear and tear of Gabriel Rufián's figure, which in recent days has caused more division in the independence movement.

But above all, the main challenge is how to support the PSC government without ERC continuing to wear out. ERC's support for PSC can only be profitable if the republicans can offer progress for Catalonia. But Catalonia is experiencing an endemic crisis, as demonstrated by the chaos in Rodalies, and ERC always appears in the picture.

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