The city of Lleida is the paradigm of the government that the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) aspires to lead. ERC evicted the Socialists (PSC) from their historic fiefdom in the city's mayoralty thanks to an alliance with JxCat and Comuns that is still holding up two years later. So it is not entirely coincidental that ERC has chosen Catalonia's most westerly capital as the place to intensify its offensive against the Socialists further and explicitly warn its voters of the risk that if they vote for PSC candidate Salvador Illa, he will end up making a pact with Vox to "assault the presidency of the Generalitat".
"In the face of this threat, which is also a threat to our education system and our culture," Oriol Junqueras called for the "mobilization" of all those who "share values of the left" to tactically concentrate their votes "in the main party that can stop fascism, which is ERC." Because, he said, "Catalan identity must be defended" from the clutches of the far right. The ERC leader took it for granted that the PSC "is willing to accept Vox votes to achieve what it doesn't get from the ballot boxes."
Like Cinderella, Junqueras was once again watching the clock. At half past eight he had to be entering the door of Lledoners prison. The freedom that he can enjoy under his Level 3 prison regime is ephemeral.
Whitewashing Vox
In the same vein, the ERC presidential candidate, Pere Aragonès, asserted that "Pedro Sánchez began to prepare the ground" this week in Congress, after the votes of Vox allowed the Spanish government to pass its decree on the use of European funds. A gesture that the PSOE appreciated by referring to it as a sense of state. For Aragonès, it was the proof that the Socialists intend to "whitewash" fascism, as they did with "Valls the racist" on the Barcelona city council, accepting his group's votes in order to prevent election winner Maragall from taking over the mayoralty.
With all this taking place, the current Catalan vice president reiterated the need to stop "the spiral of reproaches between pro-independence parties that puts a smile on the face of those who want a submissive Catalan government." "Fellow independence supporters, let's not get confused about who the real opponent is."
Last day for postal voting
This Thursday's rally in Lleida had a slight air of a campaign closing. For one possible reason: this Friday is the deadline for registering to vote by mail. And with the certainty that the fear of contagion is a threat to voter turnout, Aragonès asked the public not to wait till the last minute and to vote ERC "now".
In fact, the Catalan minister responsible for organizing the elections, Bernat Solé, was on the podium moments before to guarantee that "schools and voting tables will be safe".
In the main image, Junqueras and Aargonès share the stage at the rally in Lleida. / Marc Puig