> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://barna.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # ERC and Comuns feud ahead of elections - URL: https://barna.news/erc-and-comuns-feud-ahead-of-elections/ - Published: 2026-10-18T18:11:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-18T18:12:12.000Z - Description: Longstanding tensions between Catalonia's two left-wing parties resurface as national and regional polls approach. - Author: Barna.News - Tags: politics, Catalonia ## Fractured alliance, familiar conflict Relations between Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Comuns remain strained ahead of upcoming elections, despite shared left-wing values. The two parties, once coalition partners in the Generalitat, now find themselves at odds in a political climate where unity on the left is increasingly urgent. ## Key flashpoints in recent years Tensions escalated after the 2019 Barcelona municipal elections, when then-mayor Ada Colau accepted support from Ciudadanos to block ERC's Ernest Maragall from becoming mayor. This decision left a lasting scar within ERC, which viewed it as a betrayal by a fellow left-wing party. The rift deepened in 2022 when ERC voted against the national labour reform championed by Yolanda Díaz, a key initiative for the federal left. Comuns interpreted this as a rejection of progressive unity, further entrenching distrust. --- ## Reciprocal grievances deepen divide Comuns have not forgiven ERC for perceived poaching of allies, including the shift of former parliamentarian Elisenda Alamany toward Republican ranks. Nor did they welcome the 2022 appointment of Gemma Ubasart, a figure linked to Colau’s circle, as Minister of Justice under then-president Pere Aragonès. In retaliation, Comuns voted against Aragonès’s regional budget in 2023, helping trigger early elections. The move backfired: both parties lost ground, with the PSC gaining significantly. Final results from the 23 July 2023 congressional elections, published in the official state bulletin on 1 September 2023, confirmed ERC won seven seats in Catalonia, while Comuns-affiliated candidates under the SUMAR banner secured seven. > "Yesterday we asked to renegotiate with ERC and they wouldn't even sit down to talk," said Ada Colau. ## Historical parallels, modern impasse Efforts at reconciliation have faltered. Gabriel Rufián’s recent unity proposal was dismissed sharply by ERC leadership, with Oriol Junqueras stating in March 2023: "I went to prison for Catalonia, not for Colau to be an ERC deputy." The conflict echoes earlier divisions between ERC and the PSUC during the Republic, when leaders Lluís Companys and Joan Comorera collaborated in the Front d’Esquerres de Catalunya. Despite a shared history, the parties have long occupied distinct spaces: ERC as an independentist force, Comuns as federalist and aligned with Spain-wide progressive movements. With elections approaching, both sides acknowledge the cost of disunity. Yet the mutual resentment, rooted in strategic betrayals and personal slights, remains a defining feature of Catalonia’s left. --- *Primary sources:* [*eb.gencat.cat*](https://web.gencat.cat/es/generalitat/qui-som/historia-generalitat/generalitat-contemporania?ref=barna.news)*,* [*eleccions.gencat.cat*](https://eleccions.gencat.cat/ca/detalls/article/Nou-article-01312?ref=barna.news)*. Reported by eldiario.es, elDiario.es Catalunya.* --- ### Related on Barna.News - [Rufián pushes for ERC-Comuns pact as party rules it out](https://barna.news/rufian-pushes-for-erc-comuns-pact-as/) - [ERC and Junts honour Companys amid election tensions](https://barna.news/erc-and-junts-honour-companys-amid/) - [Ernest Urtasun to stand as number two for Front Ampli](https://barna.news/ernest-urtasun-to-stand-as-number-two-for-front-ampli/) - [Catalan Parties Agree on Democratic Memory Law](https://barna.news/catalan-parties-agree-on-democratic/)