Sumar En Comú Podem kicked off the primary campaign in Catalonia for the 23-year elections this Sunday with a rally in Cornellà led by Yolanda Díaz, coalition leader and vice-president of the government and MP and candidate for Barcelona, Aina Vidal. In front of around 200 people in the very small auditorium of the Sant Idelfons social center in Cornellà, the two politicians emphasized in their speeches the social heritage of the coalition government and its claim to shorten the working day and refrained from the slightest allusion to the right to make decisions or to the sovereign referendum. Vidal, who succeeds Jaume Asens at the top of the list, said on the day she was unveiled as a candidate that this vote would, as always, be on the House of Commons election manifesto
Under the motto “A per més” (For more) and supported by the most prominent members of the candidacy – the former mayor Ada Colau was not present, but the MEP Ernest Urtasun was – Díaz first addressed the people who had no access auditory . His only wink was to insist that the right-wing parties want to rule against Catalonia, and that the left-wing coalition wants one to do so. “PP and Vox campaign against Catalonia. Can you govern a country by saying you are against Catalonia?” he asked before an engaged audience. Vidal only made this reference: “Moving forward in Catalonia is a dejudicating; it’s Jaume Asens,” he said in a gesture of recognition of his predecessor.
By deciding to dodge the referendum, Díaz and the lower house sidestepped the issue that will come up again when the election manifestos are presented. Alongside Vidal, Joan Mena, spokeswoman for the party, stressed last week that the Commons had never deviated from the position of defending the referendum and that its frame of reference, although in need of updating, was the program of the 2019 general election Dialogue table mentioned but also the need for the Catalans to decide their future in a vote in addition to a clarity bill. Urtasun reiterated on Friday that the coalition was “comfortable” with the Catalans voting on the agreements reached at the dialogue table.
The point is that the final outcome of the dialogue table, from which the referendum is unlikely to emerge due to the government’s radical opposition, did not appear at the rally. The position of the PSC, which has also been keeping a low profile lately to avoid clashes with barons, is similar: it wants an agreement to be voted on. Anyway, everything indicates that the Commons will have to do a thousand balance sheets because they will have their own program on top of Sumar’s program. The question will be how the small print of both will match, apart from the fact that everything indicates that the sovereignty conflict will not be a fundamental focus of their campaign.
Yolanda Díaz and Gerardo Pissarello, at a time of the rally. Gianluca Battista
Last Friday, Colau claimed sovereignty over his territory but distanced himself from the referendum when asked if he was in favour, in an interview on TV3. “I want an effective solution and not chimeric promises that are not kept,” he said, recalling in this chapter his party’s legacy by mentioning pardons, the reform of the penal code and the dialogue table. The reality is that the polity enters politics with the referendum flag, although it no longer hoists it as enthusiastically and pinpoints it as a target on the horizon. Gerardo Pisarello, number two on the list, and Candela Lopez (number six) also highlighted social heritage.
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“These elections are about the cost of living. From an inflation in the basket of more than 12%; the mortgage, the people who can’t pay the rent,” affirmed the vice-president, who defended that the good numbers of the macro economy reach the people. With a similar message, faced with a scenario in which the word “Sumar” triumphed over “En Comú Podem”, the two politicians reiterated that these elections are not just about stopping the extreme right, but about improve the lives of most people. Vidal, who has a union tradition from his time at CC OO, complains that workers in Spain work 300 hours more than in Germany. “The madness is that inequality is growing at the same rate as the number of people who own 1% of the country’s wealth,” he said, accusing the junts and ERC of already considering the elections lost.
After recalling that he defended the rights of domestic workers with her as an MP, Díaz agreed with the list leader for Barcelona: “Aina Vidal is Catalonia’s candidate for Spain. “We have a project in favor of life and the working class,” said the vice-president, who was “astonished” when it became known that they were not satisfied with the social achievements. “How can we not be proud,” he affirmed and pleaded for labor reform, permanent employment contracts, an 8.5% increase in pensions and an increase in the minimum wage for all occupations by up to 1,080 euros.
“We are aware that it is not enough because there is a difference of 25 points compared to the average European salary. “Good macroeconomic data must reach the people,” said the vice-president, who pledged that she would make the same efforts as she did to shorten the working day to save time and protect the lives of citizens with dignity. Díaz, who claims the country’s common heritage and cultural diversity, has called for mobilization. “I ask you to mobilize. Catalonia could have the defining voice of the next decade. “If Catalonia get up, it will be decisive,” he declared.
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