Homs suggests to ERC running together as a “one-off slate" if there are new Spanish elections
In an interview with Europa Press, the Democràcia i Llibertat leader said it is a personal proposal and suggested that candidates be chosen in primaries from among volunteers who made up JxSí
BarcelonaRepeating the Junts pel Sí platform, this time in Madrid’s Congress. Francesc Homs, leader of Democràcia i Llibertat (Democracy and Freedom) in the Spanish parliament, has unearthed the formula of a joint list, and has proposed that the independence movement create a united candidacy if elections are repeated in Spain, a scenario that would be "a failure for Spanish politics". "The independence movement must be able to build a platform for the occasion --a one-off slate“, argued Homs, who asked to highlight the contrast between "the failure of Spanish politics versus the success of Catalan separatism”.
The former Catalan minister asked that new elections be seen as an opportunity for the independence movement to show its strength and, using a metaphor from football, explained that "when life gives you a football in front of the goal you only have to take the shot, and we can do so with enormous strength".
Homs’ idea is quite well-developed. He explained that the candidacy would emerge from primary elections, in which "the 110,000 volunteers who made up the list for JxSí (Junts pel Sí)” would have the right to run and to vote. "They would be the protagonists, and would drive a candidacy which would have to have an extraordinarily broad-based civic component", he argued.
Other details of his suggestion —which he said is personal and still must be communicated to his party— are that Homs "would have no objection" to step aside and not head up the list. It would instead be led by whoever received the most support in the primaries, and that the electoral platform would promote the pro-independence road map already agreed upon in Catalonia, but would not renounce an eventual referendum. "Every time that we get to go to the polls, we must be in a position to get a huge result", he argued.
The goal of the candidacy would be clear: to exceed 20 representatives-- there are now 17 pro-independence MPs in Madrid’s parliament, 9 from ERC and 8 from Democràcia i Llibertat. Thus, Homs believes that the image of the pro-independence movement would be strengthened in the eyes of the international community. "Every time that we see a ballot box, we must make the most of it to show our strength and commitment", he said.
Pressure on ERC
The truth is that CDC had already proposed to ERC the idea of sharing a candidacy in Madrid. When the Junts pel Sí slate was being negotiated for 27-S the question of what should be done for the Spanish elections was discussed, but any decision was put off until after the Catalan vote. ERC ended up declining the offer and the two parties ran separately, but they promised to guarantee united action.
Now Homs is leaning on the Republicans again. "ERC will decide if they want to put the party first or seize an opportunity that could set a highly visible, extraordinary example before the international community", explained Convergència's vice secretary general for strategy.
