The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has again expressed this Thursday that she would like to "make a team" with the spokesperson of ERC in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, in view of general elections, although she has emphasized her respect for the republican formation.
In an interview on the program 'Malas Lenguas', collected by Europa Press, Belarra described Rufián as "a value for the left of the whole State," highlighting that his figure transcends the political sphere of Catalonia. At the same time, she has stressed the "very deep" respect she feels for ERC, a party with which Podemos has "worked a lot" over the last few years.
Belarra has valued the cooperation between progressive forces by recalling that "everything that was possible in the past legislature was thanks to that plurinational and progressive majority that Podemos formed with Esquerra Republicana and with EH Bildu. I am going to be super respectful with them," she insisted.
Likewise, she pointed out that within all political organizations "there are differences and there are debates," so she expressed her confidence that it will be the Catalan party itself that finds "the way to resolve it" regarding its internal discussions.
From Podemos, the option of an electoral tandem between Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián had already been publicly raised, after a joint event of both leaders, although that possible alliance ultimately did not materialize.
In parallel, Gabriel Rufián reiterated this Thursday his willingness to represent ERC alongside other leftist and antifascist forces. "And I will try until the end. And hopefully ERC will also want it," he stated in a message published on 'X' and collected by Europa Press.
Meanwhile, the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, along with other leaders of the republican leadership, have again expressed their support for Rufián to lead the Esquerra candidacy in the upcoming elections.