Internal dispute in party not-aligned on independence

The only party in the Catalan parliament non-aligned in the independence issue, Catalunya en Comú (CatECP), is facing an internal dispute.

Following the sudden resignation of its leader, Xavier Domènech, in September, a sector of the party that includes two out of the eight MPs, calls on the leadership to defend Catalan “sovereignty” and to change certain internal dynamics.

“We believe in the country’s sovereignty, without limits or subordination, we represent a new progressive sovereignism, unlinked to conservative views or the traditional political elites,” reads this sector’s manifesto, which was presented on Tuesday evening in Barcelona.

For this group, Catalunya en Comú “has too often given up the claim to sovereignism, even though it is one of our foundational values,” referring to the concept of Catalans having full sovereignty to decide their future. 

They warn that pluralism within the party could be at risk, as “members in favor of sovereignism feel absolutely alone” inside Catalunya en Comú.

Elisenda Alamany, the spokeswoman for the party in Parliament, is part of this sector, and during its presentation, also complained about the internal dynamics.

For her, despite being founded in 2016, Catalunya en Comú, born as a joint effort by several left-wing forces, “has not been able to overcome the traditional problems of parties.”

“Negotiations between leaderships [of the member parties], retreats, agreements in offices, temptations of homogenization” are some of the internal issues noted by Alamany.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, she claimed that internal disputes “cannot be solved the Stalinist way.”

This, the day the party sacked one of her closest allies in Parliament, Marc Grau, arguing “lack of trust.” Grau backs the new sector calling on the party to defend Catalonia’s “sovereignty.”

Another relevant official supporting the new project is MP Joan Josep Nuet, a former member of the chamber bureau and who has a trial pending for disobedience as part of the large trial on the October 2017 referendum and declaration of independence.