Oriol Junqueras, ERC president, has firmly rejected Gabriel Rufián's push for a left-wing electoral coalition, stating he did not go to jail for Catalonia so Ada Colau could run for ERC. At a book launch in Barcelona, he advocated understanding among democratic parties without electoral alliances. Parlament president Josep Rull called for updating Catalan identity to counter the far right.
Oriol Junqueras joined Josep Rull, Parlament president, in Barcelona on Monday for the launch of Francesc-Marc Álvaro's book El franquisme en temps de Trump.
Junqueras shut down Rufián's proposal for a broad left-wing front ahead of the next general elections. "I went to jail for Catalonia, not so Ada Colau could be an ERC MP," he said, targeting the ex-Barcelona mayor and the plan to avoid competing in provinces to maximize votes.
Both leaders agreed on an "explicit willingness for understanding" among democratic parties to "save the values" of modernist Catalanism, but without electoral coalitions. ERC will run under its own banner, Junqueras stated previously.
Rull stressed updating the "sense of belonging" to Catalan identity, including "new Catalans" from diverse backgrounds, focusing on language, work, and shared spaces to prevent far-right growth. Junqueras warned of fertile ground for such parties due to eroding community life.
Junqueras's rejection comes as ERC spokesperson Isaac Albert confirmed party representatives will attend Rufián's April 9 event with Irene Montero.
