Puigdemont has repeatedly advocated for a joint list of secessionist parties from his current refuge in Belgium, where he is trying to avoid detention after Spain issued a European Arrest Warrant on sedition charges. The former regional president has said he would be prepared to take part in another pro-independence coalition, contradicting his previous assertions that he would not run for office again.
However, after Tuesday’s deadline came and went, it was clear that his arguments did not convince his erstwhile coalition partners from the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which polls put in first place ahead of the ballot. Analysts say the ERC has more to lose than to win from a new alliance with Puigdemont’s center-right Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT). [...]
It’s unclear if a joint separatist platform would increase the parties’ chances in any case. Although the electoral system rewards the concentration of votes, alliances can repel voters as well as attract them. For example, leftist voters may be reluctant to choose a list that includes right-wingers and vice-versa.
A poll by Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia on Saturday placed the ERC first but didn’t guarantee the separatists an absolute majority in the regional assembly. The liberal Ciudadanos and the Catalan Socialists — both parties opposed to the latest independence bid — ranked second and third respectively ahead of Puigdemont’s PDeCAT. Other polls, however, do predict a pro-independence majority as in 2015.
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