The Minister of Culture and number 2 of Comuns-Frente Amplio for Barcelona, Ernest Urtasun, has assured that the coalition is running in the general elections with the intention of "fighting for each and every one of the votes of progressive citizens" in the candidacies for Congress, although he has admitted that particular situations may arise, referring to the decision not to present lists in Teruel.
After meeting in Barcelona with representatives of the Taula del Tercer Sector, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Social Rights and coordinator of Movimiento Sumar, Rosa Martínez, the head of Culture defended the agreement reached with the PSOE for the lists for the Senate in certain provinces, although he specified that it will not be extended generally to the candidacies for Congress.
"We are going to fight for a progressive majority in the Senate and that is why we have reached this agreement. And in Congress, Frente Amplio is going out to fight for each and every one of the votes," he emphasized.
When questioned about the specific situation in Teruel, he pointed out that if there is any "specific case," it will be the parties integrated in Frente Amplio that explain it, although he insisted that their objective is to go out "to try to achieve the best result in all provinces."
In Aragón, Frente Amplio maintains a coalition with Chunta Aragonesista, which this Wednesday announced that it will not register lists in the province of Teruel out of responsibility, in order to favor the concentration of votes on the PSOE and thus try to take seats from the right, given that the socialists are the ones who have options to achieve representation in that constituency.
This position clashes with the frontal opposition of IU, one of the driving forces of Frente Amplio, which has labeled the decision as "nonsense" and has expressed its intention to run with its own candidacy.
In relation to the agreement with the PSOE to present joint lists for the Senate in numerous constituencies, Urtasun has defended that it is essential for the Upper House to regain institutional normality and stop being a "place of institutional sabotage" as, in his opinion, has occurred in the last legislature, in addition to serving to prevent the right from achieving a three-fifths majority.
Internal debate over the lists and departure of Aina Vidal
Urtasun has also referred to the lists of the Comuns, approved with 34% of votes against and in which the until now spokesperson for the space in Congress, Aina Vidal, among other prominent names, does not appear.
He emphasized that the preparation of the candidacies "is always a complex process in all political parties," although he defended that they have achieved a solid list with which they trust to go out to win.
In this line, he acknowledged the work of Vidal and also that of Candela López, Eloi Badia, and Gerardo Pisarello, who will not repeat either, but he guaranteed that they will count "on all of them for the electoral campaign."
Criticism of Feijóo for the role of Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo
Regarding the announcement concerning the number 2 of the PP for Madrid, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, Urtasun replied: "I don't know if Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo is a choice of Mr. Feijóo, because she was removed from the spokesperson role of the parliamentary group."
In his opinion, Alberto Núñez Feijóo does not have effective control of his formation or of the configuration of the lists: "I believe they are imposed on him."