Former Podemos leader in Catalonia calls for independence support

The former leader of Podem Catalunya, Albano Dante Fachin, is campaigning for the two pro-independence left-wing Catalan parties, CUP and Esquerra. Before stepping down as leader of the Catalan branch of Podemos last month, he wanted his party to get closer to the pro-independence bloc in order to join forces to fight Madrid’s measures against Catalan self-rule. Yet the party’s direction in Madrid denied that possibility and as a result, he resigned.   

Podem Catalunya is now part of the Catalunya en Comú-Podem (CeC) candidacy, in between both for and against independence blocs. Yet some of its members might not support CeC if they hear the party’s former leader and some other politicians supporting him. He is not a member of any candidacy, and he does not even support independence. But he is campaigning for the parties backing it.

In fact, on Thursday, Fachin took part in a CUP political gathering and said that every vote for Catalonia in Common is “a vote against the October 1” referendum. Actually, he claimed that if the pro-independence parties fail to keep the majority, Mariano Rajoy will have won. He supported the far-left CUP by saying that it it is necessary to vote “for a party which believes in the idea of a constituent process and democratic radicalness, which has to be decent and which has to stand up.” In fact, ‘stand up’ is part of the CUP’s motto. Fachin also took part in an Esquerra event on Tuesday.

Catalonia in Common is not expected to get more votes than in the 2015 election, despite having set up a party joining forces with former political groups. One of the reasons might be the split in this far-left ‘in-between’ sector.