Pedro Sánchez's announcement of an early Spanish general election on July 23rd - five months before it was envisaged - has reactivated the electoral assets of all parties. And in consequence, a move has been made in Together for Catalonia (Junts). The former Catalan economy minister, Jaume Giró, has informed the party's executive this afternoon that he intends to present his candidacy to head the party list for Barcelona in the Congress of Deputies, ElNacional.cat can reveal. The ex-minister's announcement will mean that the party will hold a primary election that will pit him against the current president of the parliamentary group in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, who ran in the last Spanish elections as the number two after Laura Borràs.
The possibility of Giró opting to head the Junts list in these elections was an option that had been in the air for weeks in party circles, but Sánchez's announcement has precipitated the decision. The former economy minister informed his colleagues of his intention to run for office after analyzing Sunday's results and in response to the snap election called today by the Spanish prime minister.
The culture of government
Giró, who has established himself as one of Junts's most prominent leaders, a few months ago declined Carles Puigdemont's proposal for him to head the party's candidacy for Barcelona city council and opted instead to support the list led by Xavier Trias, which is aligned with other former ministers Victòria Alsina, Ramon Tremosa and Damià Calvet, all of them representatives of the more pragmatic sector of Junts. Since the former financial sector leader Giró jumped to the political forefront, he has defended the Convergència legacy, with the restoration of the Generalitat in the post-Franco era and the promotion and construction of Catalonia's structures of state. This placed him as one of the reference figures on the more pragmatic side of the party, compared to the sector headed by Laura Borràs.
The victory of Xavier Trias this Sunday has represented a major boost for these leaders, who are promoting a discourse based on the defence of the culture of government. On the other hand, the so-called Laurista sector has had to deal with some major setbacks, such as that of the party's organizational secretary, David Torrents, who failed to win a seat on the Badalona city council.
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