Former deputy Conchi Abellán, 39, has led Podem for the last three years and has become its longest-serving leader. A member of the state executive, she is running for re-election, for which Maria Pozuelo, head of organization and who was number 8 for Barcelona on 23-J, is also running. A turbulent party since it was born in 2014, it faces primaries after the suspension of 13 leaders for speaking out in favor of the agreement with Sumar. The crisis with the commons broke out when they demanded the minutes from Lilith Verstrynge, Podemos' organizational secretary, when she went to the Mixed Group with the other four deputies. Eclipsed by Ada Colau's Catalunya en Comú, which has brought Podem to media irrelevance, the party's spokesperson, aligned with Ione Belarra and Irene Montero—symbolically going to the European elections on her list—sets conditions for electoral re-election. Comú Podem and emphasizes that Catalunya en Comú and Podem are different parties.
Ask. She presents herself again as coordinator. What does she expect after such turbulent years?
Answer. Strengthen the structure and defend Podem. We want to establish our own profile as a rebellious and demanding party, which works with social groups and on the streets.
Q. They have had conflicts and no public relevance for nine years. Is it your fault or the commons?
R. It has been a turbulent start. In nine years we have had five coordinators and three managers. It has been difficult to settle the game with so many changes. Catalonia needs a visible and critical Podem. Our roadmap is clear: we want more autonomy and sovereignty with respect to the commons and not double militancy.
Q. The break between Sumar and Podemos has affected En Comú Podem. Don't they meet with the common people from the municipal level?
What affects the most is what happens closest. So you don't miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe
R. Since June 23, there has only been one meeting with Adrià Alemany and Candela López [miembro de la ejecutiva y coordinadora de los comunes] and it didn't help much beyond mutual reproaches. Strategies must be worked together. They can't go on their own. We've been saying it for a year. The people who represent Podem in the regional councils and the AMB have been elected by Catalunya en Comú. That can't happen. We have also had differences in voting: in the Parliament we voted no to the referendum conditional on the investiture and we could have abstained.
Since June 23, there has only been one meeting with Adrià Alemany and Candela López [miembro de la ejecutiva y coordinadora de los comunes] and it didn't help much beyond mutual reproaches.
Q. Is it a broken relationship between the two parties?
R. Neither broken nor not broken: it is a relationship that now does not exist. They use the networks separately and it is shameful. It seemed ugly and painful to me that they asked us for the Vestrynge minutes.
Q. Will the bases decide relations with the commons? In Galicia they said no to a list with Sumar. Is it a prelude?
R. We are going to make it clear in the document of these primaries. I defend that the alliances will depend on the conditions of the agreements and will be ratified by the Podem bases. I wasn't surprised by what happened in Galicia: people are tired of being on the second table.
Q. You said days ago that you could not guarantee going with the commons to the elections. Is that so?
R. I continue in the same line. We will be in an alliance as long as we are respected as an organization, there are no vetoes, there are primaries and good representation. If they make proposals that do not comply, they will vote in an assembly, as in Galicia. And if it doesn't, we'll go alone.
I wasn't surprised by what happened in Galicia: people are tired of being on the second table.
Q. Have they paid for Colau's hyperleadership?
R. Not only. We have made major mistakes and given a lot of oxygen to political forces that have not given it back to us. Not only that: they have used it to ignore us.
Q. He threatened them in the negotiation with losing the subsidies.
R. It was surreal. If you represent a common space you cannot threaten or gag. I've known her since before PAH. I haven't changed and I still think the same. Yolanda Diaz? She can't let me down. She's not my space. She is a professional politician: for many years she has been making lifelong policies.
It was surreal. If you represent a common space you cannot threaten or gag. I've known her since before PAH. I haven't changed and I still think the same. ¿
Q. Of the eight deputies from En Comú Podem in the Parliament, only Yolanda López is from Podem. Is it a disproportion?
R. There is a big imbalance. In the generals it hurt me. We work hard campaigning. It cannot be that in a coalition there is 10% for one party and the rest for the other. We are not going to fight over a position, but to do politics and influence the coalition. Why are they only giving us one position? For insisting that public services must be 100% public? We have different ways of seeing and managing politics: Podem works by involving and opening the door of institutions to social groups.
The 13 sanctioned leaders will be suspended for nine months and will not be able to run for office for four years.
Q. Why did they accept that number four would be occupied by Verstrynge, with no link to Catalonia?
R. Well, because they wanted to kill Podemos. And Podem has high vision and looks beyond whether we want a position or not.
Q. Jéssica Albiach is coordinator of the commons and was in Podem and in the state executive. Is that an anomaly?
R. Yes, but not only her: there were Podem registered in the Catalunya en Comú address. They are different parties. But she has not been in any
Q. What has been the outcome of the 13 charges filed?
R. They signed a manifesto demanding only Podemos. We wanted unity but not at any price. It hurt us and we only had one person in a starting position. They are suspended for nine months and cannot seek office for four years.
Q. The Parliament deputy is sanctioned
R. You cannot appear, but you can represent Podem.
Q. What do you think that ERC wants to link the budgets of the Generalitat to those of the State?
Q. You have criticized that ERC wants to link the Catalan budgets to those of the State
R. I believe that Gabriel Rufián is more similar to Podem than to ERC and I would like to know what he thinks of what the Government does. ERC has two souls and in the Government it is the right: there are degraded public services, enormous waiting lists, volunteer firefighters in precarious conditions. What happens to nurses is outrageous and there have been barracks for decades. ERC has the same model as Pujol.
Q. They say the same as the CUP when rejecting public-private col
laboration in public services
R. Yes, socially we are similar, but we are not independentists. We will never vote for a Junts candidate to be president.
You can follow EL PAÍS Catalunya in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
#Conchi #Abellán #Podem #relationship #commons #broken #exist
