With the purpose of breaking the absolute majority of the PP in the Senate, or a hypothetical one with Vox, PSOE and Frente Amplio closed an agreement to coordinate the candidacies for the Senate.
In all constituencies? Not in all, according to several sources knowledgeable of the negotiations informing DEMÓCRATA.
Pending the final lists —the deadline closes this Monday, October 26— and the terms of the agreement, Catalonia will be excluded from the distribution agreed by PSOE and Frente Amplio aimed at concentrating the vote of the progressive bloc in the Upper House.
En Comuns denounce to DEMÓCRATA that the decision responds to a blockage by the PSC, led by Salvador Illa, which has refused to open its candidacies in the negotiations to the agreement.
PSC argues that representation could be lost
Sources from the environment of the president of the Generalitat and leader of the Catalan socialists deny that there has been such a blockage on their part. They argue that it is not that they do not want to agree on a consensus list, but that PP and Vox do not have any of the 16 senators, so the scenario is not comparable to that of other autonomous communities.
Other sources from the PSC consulted by DEMÓCRATA admit that the issue has been subtly discussed in the Executive.
In any case, the Catalan socialists point to strategic reasons to justify going separately in these elections, considering that it could even be counterproductive to join efforts. They believe that presenting a united candidacy with Frente Amplio may not be entirely useful because Catalonia is already a stronghold of socialist votes and it would not only change nothing, but could even detract.
Of the 16 senators that the autonomous community distributes, PSOE holds the maximum possible, 12, three from each province. Currently, ERC has another three (Lleida, Barcelona, and Tarragona), and Junts, the remaining one (Girona).
The reduced representation in the elections to the Upper House greatly rewards the most voted lists, and three years ago the PSC managed to elect the three representatives it aspired to in each of the four provinces.
Comuns candidacy or pressure not to run
The exclusion forces the Comuns to work on their own candidacy in the four constituencies, or pushes them to the dilemma of not presenting themselves, a possibility that has been raised within Frente Amplio for several of the congressional constituencies where the chances of gaining representation are more limited, if not remote.
This possibility has already been ruled out by Frente Amplio, fundamentally due to the rejection of Izquierda Unida, the only state-level force in the coalition with a true presence throughout the territory.
This formation has already distanced itself from other parties, as in Aragón, where they have indeed advanced candidacies in the three constituencies – Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel – despite their partners from Chunta Aragonesista having announced that they will not run in Teruel to concentrate the vote on Teruel Existe, which has a better chance of securing a seat.