EH Bildu, the shadow ally of MÉS in Congress

PalmaThe first person to knock on Vicenç Vidal's office door at Congress was a deputy from EH Bildu, to offer him technical or legal assistance if he needed it. It was the first time in history that MÉS per Mallorca had representation in the Lower House. That summer of 2023, the deputy began to see the fruits of the efforts the party had made for years to stop being unknown in the State's sovereignist movement. Informally, the Basque left has become one of the most important supporters of the eco-sovereignists, beyond the pacts with ERC in the Balearic Islands and the strategic alliance with Sumar.

Vidal navigates between two worlds in Madrid. As part of Sumar, he is part of the Spanish left bloc. As a sovereignist representative of the Catalan Countries, he is a natural ally of ERC and close to the rest of the territorial parties, such as the BNG. “We had historical relations, but arriving in Madrid opens up daily relations for us,” explains the deputy, who has adopted the role of “communication channel.” “For example, I have convinced people outside the sovereignist movement to defend amnesty, and I have facilitated indirect dialogue between deputies from EHBildu and the PP,” he explains.

Some alliances are more fluid than others. While the relationship with the state left in Sumar is the result of a tactical decision to maximize results, EHBildu has been the most welcoming party to the Mallorcan. This is explained by sources from Arnaldo Otegi's party, who consider that MÉS finds itself “very alone” in Sumar. This legislature, MÉS has held two assemblies to decide whether or not to maintain the alliance in view of Vidal's difficulties in maintaining an independent profile within the group, although for now the 'yes' has won.

The leader of MÉS, Lluís Apesteguia, highlights the efforts of the Basque independentists so that "there is coordination between the sovereignist parties", a strategic bet by EHBildu to gain weight in Congress. On the other hand, sources from the eco-sovereignists throw a dart at the republicans: "EH Bildu counts on us, and ERC, less". Despite the agreements signed in the Balearic Islands – ERC is integrated into MÉS–, this close relationship is asymmetrical in Madrid. Vidal has a personal link with the parliamentarian Teresa Jordà: they were ministers of Agriculture at the same time and, when Catalonia refused to attend meetings with the State, he represented both territories. He also has good rapport with the deputy Francesc-Marc Álvaro. But, on the other hand, the relationship is "very cold" with the republican spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián. Despite the deputy's calls to create a unitary list, MÉS "has never been interested", lament various sources.

Two political cultures in MÉS

“Institutional politics is visible, but political relationships often are not,” explains the party’s relations manager, Carme Gomila, who also leads Esquerra in the Balearic Islands. “Many of the things that happen afterwards are possible thanks to previous work of complicity built over time,” she points out. In practice, this has translated into votes: the sovereigntist parties have united on issues such as the defense of co-official languages and on certain points regarding housing, in addition to the general budgets.

There are two distinct cultures within MÉS. On the one hand, the profiles working within the municipalist network, and on the other, activists linked to social and internationalist movements, who have played a key role in the party's projection in the State. “From the abertzale left, we have reproduced a way of organizing ourselves,” explains David Pujol, current head of the list for MÉS per Palma: “They organize themselves through contact with the street, with a youth sector, students, the herriko tabernes”. The relationship with EHBildu has been built over two decades “sharing spaces,” assures Pujol. He illustrates this with a youthful anecdote: “In 2004, I was a chauffeur for Martxelo Otamendi, director of the newspaper Berria, heading to Manacor. He was concerned about the follow-ups, we went around more than one roundabout twice”. The historian and advisor to MÉS in Congress, Antoni Trobat, includes the CUP in this framework. “For MÉS, the CUP has been a training school: a political family or even a youth subculture that has given us incredible intellectual and political training,” he assures.

Regarding the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), the ties were forged during the youth stage of the PSM (founder of MÉS) and Galiza Nova, the youth organization of the BNG. Among others, the former mayor of Palma Toni Noguera, former councilor Joan Ferrà, Apesteguia, and Trobat participated. This has facilitated the relationship with BNG leaders Ana Pontón, Rubén Cela, and MEP Ana Miranda, through contact with the party's historic figure Xosé Manuel Beiras. The day after the last Galician elections, Cela traveled to Madrid. After meeting with BNG deputy Néstor Rego, they celebrated the party's electoral results with the MÉS team.

In the same vein, the current general secretary of Més-Compromís, Amparo Piquer, coincided during the Bloc Jove stage (the youth wing of the Valencian Nationalist Bloc) with Toni Noguera and Antoni Trobat himself. Meanwhile, the link with Endavant Andalusia is channeled through leaders of the Andalusian Workers' Union. MÉS sources explain that representatives of this group could land in Palma to support David Pujol's candidacy during the campaign.

Beyond the current moment, the president of the Sovereignist Forum, Miquel Rosselló, highlights that current relations respond to attempts like that of the entity itself, which this year celebrates a decade, to connect the sovereignist parties of the State. “They were too closed in on themselves, and that weakens you,” he explains. Rosselló recalls a conversation with the historical leader of the PSM, Pere Sampol, when he was a senator, between 2007 and 2011: “He told me, ‘we are nationalists, we are many, and we never vote together’.” “People barely even knew the PSM,” he remembers: “That is no longer the case,” he concludes.