The attack of sincerity that has revolutionized MÉS per Mallorca

PalmaThe attack of sincerity by Ferran Rosa, Lluís Apesteguia's right-hand man, had last week on a podcast has revolutionized MÉS for Mallorca. Criticism has rained down on him for saying that not enough was done to curb tourism growth during the Pact and that, for this reason, the left "should have lost the 2019 elections". This exercise in self-criticism was not the result of a strategy by the deputy, but rather a slip-up. The relaxed format of the program Nap time, the fact that he was among friends – political scientists Julián Claramunt and Pau Torres – and that he did not expect to have many listeners made him lower his guard. But his words have had wide diffusion and have reopened wounds in the party.

In the podcast, Ferran Rosa, who is a member of the permanent executive, lashed out at the management of the previous executives and the parliamentary group leadership and specifically pointed to the former president of the Consell de Mallorca: “Leading is doing things correctly, not a Miquel Ensenyat, who builds a highway in Campos and goes to see how they make fra Juníper Serra a saint”. Furthermore, he considered that "the PP is the one that has best read why the left lost" the elections.

The deputy's statements have been on the minds of the militants without respite. But the consequences arrived days later, when the mayor of Esporles and former spokesperson for MÉS in Parliament, Josep Ferrà, sent a nine-page letter to the deputy. He did so representing, he said, "a group of militants who feel the contempt towards us with pain". “With covid-19 (...) was it the time for the people of Mallorca to worry about tourism? Only an accommodated political official could think of that,” Ferrà snapped in the text, to which ARA Balears had access. He also criticized Rosa for having questioned the party's action "with a certain arrogance and relaxed on a sofa, and with an absence of coherent self-criticism from someone who held positions in the PSIB and Podem ministries".

He claims self-criticism

The deputy received the letter the same night, but he was not the only recipient, as the text was already in the hands of a good part of the militants. Rosa refused to respond to Ferrà, but said that the left must reflect: "We must question why, in a context where 80% of Majorcans are in favor of MÉS's approaches such as tourist degrowth, affordable rental prices, and language repair, there are people who do not vote or vote for other parties."

Claramunt, who is an advisor for Barcelona en Comú, believes that the relaxed atmosphere of the interview contributed to opening Pandora's box. "As an advisor, I dedicate myself to creating arguments, and for a traditional medium, you usually sit down and prepare the message a bit; on the other hand, in this case, the interviewee was not very prepared," he explains. Nevertheless, he applauds the improvised act of transparency, because it has uncovered "a pending debate in the entire left, including social movements." "Even though there was all the good of that period, a social part is left with the negative part," he explains: "There is a feeling, especially in relation to the tourism model and housing, that nothing was done during the Pact." This, he considers, is a burden that makes the parties representing the opposition to the PP "unable to give hope to the voter": "Popular indignation [seen in this summer's demonstrations] must be channeled towards this hope."

Reactivates an internal struggle

“If I weren’t in politics and I read these statements in the newspaper, I would surely think that this guy is cool, sincere, and not a fraud,” considers a party source. In fact, something similar has been conveyed by some subscribers to ARA Balears. “I’m tired of voting with my nose plugged because the others don’t win, it’s time to do some self-criticism,” said a reader after reading the news with the statements of the eco-sovereignist. Rosa has also been applauded by part of the party’s membership and former officials.

However, behind closed doors, there is great controversy. “He is disloyal,” laments this same source: “He operates individually, not collectively.” They see a parallel with the communication of ERC’s spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián: "On Instagram, people think he’s a champion, but among his colleagues, he doesn’t have a good reputation." "You have to know how to scratch and see what game each person is playing," he adds. Several people have expressed complaints to the leadership, including former officials from previous governments. The general coordinator, Lluís Apesteguia, has declined to make statements on this matter.

“The problem is that there are wounds that haven’t healed well and different factions,” points out a source from the executive: “It’s not that they have precipitated any extraordinary event, but Rosa’s statements have activated a critical group with the leadership, which has been latent.” What consequences could this have, less than a year before the elections? “Let’s see what the first executive meeting of the term will be like,” warns this voice.