The attack of sincerity that has revolutionized MÉS per Mallorca

PalmaThe attack of sincerity by Ferran Rosa, Lluís Apesteguia's right-hand man, last week on a podcast has revolutionized MÉS per Mallorca. He has been heavily criticized for saying that not enough was done to curb tourism growth during the Pact and that the left "should have lost the 2019 elections", but Pedro Sánchez's early general election prevented it. This exercise in self-criticism was not a strategy by the deputy, but rather a slip-up. The relaxed format of the program L’hora de la sesta, the fact that he was among friends –political scientists Julián Claramunt and Pau Torres– and that he did not expect it to have many listeners made him lower his guard. But his words have had wide dissemination and have reopened old 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 executive and parliamentary group leadership and specifically pointed to the former president of the Consell de Mallorca: “Leading is doing things correctly, not like Miquel Ensenyat, who builds a highway in Campos and goes to see them make Saint Juníper Serra”. Furthermore, he considered that "the PP is the one that has best understood why the left lost" the elections.

The deputy's statements have been on everyone's lips 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 on behalf, he said, of “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 retorted in the text, which ARA Balears had access to. 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”.

Demands 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 making arguments, and for a traditional media outlet you normally sit down and prepare the message a bit; on the other hand, in this case the interviewee was little prepared," he explains. Nevertheless, he applauds the act of improvised transparency, because it has uncovered "a pending debate in all the 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 the feeling, especially in relation to the tourist model and housing, that nothing was done during the Pact". This, he considers, is a burden that prevents the formations that represent the opposition to the PP from "giving hope to the voter": "Popular indignation [seen in this summer's demonstrations] must be able to be channeled towards this hope".

Reactivates an internal struggle

“If I weren't involved in politics and read these statements in the newspaper, I would surely think this guy is cool, sincere, and not an impostor,” considers a party source. In fact, some subscribers have conveyed something similar to ARA Balears. “I’m tired of voting with my nose plugged because the others don't get elected; it's time to do some self-criticism,” pointed out a reader after reading the news with the ecosovereignist's statements. Rosa has also been applauded by a 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 dig 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 an executive source: “It’s not that they have precipitated any extraordinary event, but Rosa's statements have activated a critical group with the leadership, which is 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.