Esquerra Republicana's (ERC) decision to put Oriol Junqueras, its president, who has spent 490 days in provisional detention, first in Estremera, then in Lledoners and now in Soto del Real, in first place on its candidate lists for any elections which are held to denounce the Spanish state's repression is an intelligent measure. Unthinkable in a normal political situation but perfectly understandable in the current exceptional political climate and with a trial like the one being held in the Supreme Court where public prosecutors are asking for 25 years in prison. Junqueras's candidacy is giving new life to ERC in an election as difficult as Spain's, especially after an official poll forecast an important growth for PSC to come first in Catalonia, having apparently whitewashed at a stroke its role in approving article 155 of the Constitution and the suppression of Catalonia's institutions.
Junqueras wants, obviously, to change this image of PSC and set the political debate between those who brought about article 155 and those who are in prison for a clearly unjust decision by the Spanish state. He won't be the only political prisoner who will head a political party's list as it's taken as done that between Junts per Catalunya, the Crida and PDeCAT, Jordi Sánchez, in prison for 507 days, will at least be the first candidate on the list they end up presenting for the Spanish Congress, which will have to be one of renovation with respect to the former Convergència. With new faces in the front row, like Míriam Nogueras, now a deputy in Madrid, and Eduard Pujol, JxCat's spokesperson in the Parliament.
Although Junqueras's decision is intelligent (it has some similarities to that by Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira when he headed ERC's candidacy after it was learnt he had met with ETA and Pasqual Maragall would kick him out of the government, which gave them a great political yield) it's not free of risks. Above all, because it won't be an easy election. For a long time, ERC saw the Spanish election as an opportunity to unseat En Comú-Podem, who in the last two elections had achieved first position in Catalonia. That was the situation until CIS entered the scene a few weeks ago. En Comú were sinking and PSC collecting votes from all parties with a slogan as powerful as that only a PSOE government in Spain could stop a right-wing coalition with Vox among its majority. In that context, PSC brought in votes from En Comú, who are hemorrhaging electorally speaking, people disgruntled with Cs' jump to the hard right, but also from the independence movement, disconcerted by everything their parties are or aren't doing.
With Junqueras, Esquerra is going for broke in confidence that the political operation will pay off and will also be a boost for the following elections, in May, in municipalities and Europe. Now, in a political framework as complex as that in Catalonia currently, we have to see how Carles Puigdemont will react and what happens with the political battle between the two government partners. Also what CUP does: whether it ends up standing in the Spanish election under its own name or with a different formula. In any case, it's interesting that the independence movement isn't giving the battle for the Spanish snap general election up for lost at a time when it had started to be tough going for them.