BarcelonaThe communes face an extraordinary assembly on November 16 and 17 to face their last bad election results. One of the great unknowns was who would take the reins of the next leadership, after Ada Colau’s decision to depart from the first political line (without ruling out, however, running again in the 2027 elections) . The unknown was resolved last October 21: in an interview with RTVE, the head of the ranks of the commons in the Parliament, Jéssica Albiach, announced that she would resign to repeat as national coordinator and that the until now coordinator, Candela López, and the councilor at the Barcelona City Council Gemma Tarafa – close to Ada Colau – would be in tandem at the top of the party.
They will be accompanied by those who have been the visible faces of the commons in recent years, such as Joan Mena as assistant coordinator, and Aina Vidal or Gerardo Pisarello as spokespeople. The candidacy will have no rival, because finally no one else has submitted an alternative list to either the executive or the national council. The sectors closest to the current leaders of Catalonia En Comú defend that it responds to the natural reliefs available within the ranks of Catalonia En Comú and sources of the formation insist that, beyond not having made major changes, the will is to work more collaboratively class in this new stage. However, Albiach’s announcement generated unrest in another sector of training, also impacted by the Errejón case that has left Sumar immersed in a deep crisis.
Unrest in a partit sector
Why did Albiach’s announcement cause upset? Firstly, because the advanced list still had to go through the procedures for the assembly and the deadline to present others was still open; and, secondly, because, according to several sources consulted by the ARA, there were previously internal moves by the management so that there was only one candidacy, as has finally happened.
On this point, the sources have different opinions: some regret that there was pressure on the leaders who raised their hands to propose alternatives, while others consider that a “consensus” was reached in exchange for being included in the executive, made up of forty people, plus territorial presence. But even within this sector most favorable to the official candidacy it is admitted that the final proposal does not satisfy everyone. Why? Because, according to several sources, it does not meet the expectations of renewal that hovered over the assembly as a formula to take responsibility for the bad results in the last electoral cycle. López, member of Congress and councilor in Castelldefels, has been national coordinator of the commons since 2018, and Tarafa was already part of Xavier Domènec’s executive in 2015.
As for Albiach, he leaves the coordination but will remain at the head of the parliamentary group, a decision he has taken after making his position available following the poor results in the Catalans. According to the sources consulted, the vast majority of the bases asked him to stay, especially in the national council of the commons where the agreement to invest Salvador Illa was presented, of which the party makes a very good assessment.
Transcend the metropolitan area
Precisely, another of the open fronts for the commons is the territorial portfolio. Having lost the mayorship of Barcelona and the representation in municipalities where they had historically had representation, such as Terrassa or Santa Coloma de Gramenet, the management assumes as a priority to strengthen the party for the municipal elections of 2027. It is no coincidence that , in this sense, highlight as “municipalists” the profiles of Tarafa – councilor in Barcelona – and López, who was mayor of Castelldefels between 2015 and 2017 and is also vice-president of the Diputació de Barcelona.
However, there are sectors of the militancy that have missed the until now visible faces of the formation treading more territory (also outside the campaign) and sharing with the groups the challenges of the organization and main debates that have had to face (for example, the relationship with Podemos or the decision to place a paratrooper candidate, Lilith Verstrynge, as number 4 for Barcelona in the generals). Outside the province of Barcelona, to this debate is added the discourse of the commons on issues with different reception and repercussion in Barcelona than in Lleida, Girona or Tarragona – where they have the mayor’s office of Tortosa, led by Jordi Jordan, but they lost the deputy they had in the last Catalans after the pulse by the Hard Rock–. An example is the position on livestock, farming and sustainability or public transport. “There has been an abandonment of the territory. No resources, no story, no presence have been poured into it,” laments a former leader of the party from Lleida.
The families
The departure of Ada Colau also reopens the debate about what weight each of the spaces that are part of Catalunya En Comú should have in the formation, and which already brought some friction with other cadres in the Catalan lists. Despite the farewell of Colau, Barcelona En Comú remains at the core with Tarafa in coordination; Cadres of the extinct ICV, such as López, Urtasun and Vidal, continue in a position of weight, and Esquerra Unida will have Joan Mena at the helm of the management. However, sources from the current executive cast iron on these balances and admit that it is rather the territorial representation that has generated tensions. The same sources confirm that, in the face of the assembly, it is not on the table to modify the code of ethics of the commons regarding the mandate limitations that could make it difficult for some of these leaders to stand again in future elections.
The weight of the families within the space, their positions regarding Sumar, now in the middle of a crisis due to the Errejón case, or the continuity in the leadership of the party could make the assembly of the commons in November boil over. However, no one expects a breakthrough or an open and public war like that of ERC, and even the most critical sources have the hope that the new management will take it as a warning sign for the next mandate, where they demand more transparency and to rely more on the bases when making decisions. Sources from the current executive assure that they are taking note of this and that, beyond the best-known names of the next summit, there will be a set of leaders from the youth, unknown to the general public, dedicated to the party. “The commands will be renewed and we will self-criticize”, they promise.
