CatECP: Betting on a left-wing coalition to bring social and economic change
Jéssica Albiach’s party are not strictly aligned with either side of the independence question but are in favour of an agreed referendum
Catalunya En Comú–Podem stand out as the only party running in this election who are not definitively aligned with either side of the independence question.
A left-wing, anti-austerity, anti-globalization, and republican party, they are in favour of releasing the jailed independence leaders and allowing a referendum so Catalans can officially have their say on the matter, but for the most part, they would prefer to remain united with Spain even though there are some voices within the party that would favour independence.
CatECP are the parliamentary group of the party of Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, and their presidential candidate is Jéssica Albiach. They are also allied with Podemos in Spain, the party led by Pablo Iglesias that was formed out of the anger that many people felt following the financial crisis that began in 2008, and that are now in coalition with the Socialists in the Spanish government.
Catalunya En Comú Podem currently play a minor role in the opposition in the Catalan parliament, with just eight seats. Polls suggest they are on course for a similar return, winning between 6 and 12 seats.
Despite their relatively low projections, they could possibly end up playing a more important role during this legislature depending on the results of all other parties, as Albiach has called for a broad agreement among left-wing parties to form a coalition in which they would likely be fundamental.
“For us, there is only one alternative to the mismanagement of JxCat and ERC and that is a broad coalition of left-wing parties,” their number one candidate recently said in an interview with the Catalan News Agency.
CatECP’s election programme focuses on bringing about societal and political reforms to “bring the country forward”, such as strengthening the public health service, reorganizing the fiscal system including changes to taxation and the creation of a public bank, as well as introducing policies to protect the environment.
Their slogan this campaign is, “The change that Catalonia deserves”.