Domenech romps home

Podem will no longer be an obstacle to En Comú. Xavier Domenech has successfully completed his assault on the alternative left with the support of 4,771 party members. The leader of Catalunya en Comú will also lead Podem in Catalonia following the controversial primaries which he won convincingly with 72% of the votes. His candidacy has won 41 of the 44 on the party’s executive, the Citizen’s Council, which also includes his former rival Albano Dante Fachin, and his direct opponents Noelia Bail (9%) and Senator Celia Cánovas (6%). A total of 6,809 militants out of the total of more than 25,000 registered members voted in the primary, a percentage Domenech admits “needs to be improved on.” It is a far cry from the state-wide vote of 2016 in which 15,000 Catalan Podem militants rejected an agreement with the PSO or the Citizens Assembly of Vistalegre II, when 15,000 militants again had their say. Nevertheless, the historian celebrated yesterday’s results, given “the ups and downs of recent months” in the party circles and the fact that neither Gemma Ubasart, nor Fachin received as much support they were elected.

Fachin had been ruled out late last year when he lost the support of Pablo Iglesias, leaving his supporters with no viable alternative and although there were doubts regarding the wisdom of one person accumulating so much power in what is to a large extent and assembly-based movement, the appeals from Domenech’s opponents were turned down by the party.

Despite the victory, it will not be plain sailing for the new leader as he does not have an established base within Podem.