Esquerra Republicana members endorse deal to name Socialist candidate president

Members of pro-independence party Esquerra Republicana on Friday endorsed the party's agreement with the Socialists to support Salvador Illa's bid for the Catalan presidency.

With 53.5% of the votes in favor and 44.8% against, the party now has the green light from its members to support the Socialist candidate's run.

The vote saw a high turnout, with 77% of the 8,226 eligible voters participating, a total of 6,349 party members.

The vote is particularly significant as Esquerra are a pro-independence party while the Socialists are in favor of maintaining Spanish unity.

Catalonia has been ruled by parties and presidents aiming to split from Spain ever since 2010, and a change now would be a significant shift in the course of Catalan politics following the peak of the independence crisis in 2017. 

'Tight result reflects mistrust in deal'

Esquerra's secretary general, Marta Rovira, spoke shortly after the results were announced, accompanied by the party's leadership, including acting Catalan president Pere Aragonès.

Rovira said the result was "clear" and expressed her "pride" in the party for making a "very complex" decision.

However, Rovira stressed that the tight result reflects the "mistrust" voters have toward the deal, particularly concerning the Socialists' commitment to its implementation

"Given the many advances the agreement represents for Catalonia and for its people, it seems unbelievable, considering who is signing it on the other side," she said.

Rovira said the party's support for the Socialists would be "vigilant and demanding" and that they will use their power in both the Spanish Congress and the Catalan parliament to ensure the agreement is implemented.

Regarding the possible arrest of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who has said he will return for the presidential debate, Rovira expressed hope that Puigdemont "will not be arrested and will return freely."

There has been speculation that if Puigdemont returns and is arrested, Esquerra might withdraw its support for the Socialists at the last minute. Rovira said that in this scenario, "the leadership will have to meet and make a decision."

Salvador Illa could be named next week

The preliminary deal between the parties includes changing the financial model of Catalonia, letting the Catalan executive keep and manage 100% of taxes paid in the territory, as well as a new ministry for the Catalan language and a new body to manage the territorial dispute over the independence question. 

Now that Esquerra members have endorsed the deal, the parliament speaker will likely call an investiture debate for next week, when the chamber will vote.

It remains to be seen, however, what the youth representative of the party, MP Mar Besses, will do, as her parliamentary vote in any investiture deal will be decided in an extraordinary National Council of Republican Youth after today’s results.

Friday’s consultation comes at a difficult time for Esquerra Republicana. The party lost 13 seats in the last election and are now down to 20 MPs, while the last few weeks have seen an internal scandal and crisis break out over Alzheimer's posters being posted around Barcelona during the last municipal election campaign, in which Ernest Maragall was running for mayor.

The posters, which called for “removing Alzheimers from Barcelona” with the faces of Maragall and his brother Pascal shown, were revealed to have been put up by Esquerra members.