“No one is essential. There are times when you have to know how to step aside to let other leaders, who can better connect with the new times, take over and thus put collective interests before individual ones”. In this way, until recently the deputy and spokesman for En Comú Podem, Jaume Asens, announced that he will not be at the head of the list of this formation in the general elections on July 23 and specified that the candidacy “deserves to be led by a brave woman like Aina Vidal”, who in the last general elections, in 2019, ran as number two of the commons to Congress.

Asens' decision comes 24 hours after a plenary session at the Barcelona City Council in which the acting mayor Ada Colau will not repeat her position. Everything indicates that her party will facilitate the investiture as mayor of the Junts candidate, Xavier Trias, by not supporting the socialist Jaume Collboni, but the march of Asens could make the mayoress reconsider her decision to remain in the opposition in Barcelona and appear in the list to Congress, although the first positions of the candidacy there are other names like Gerardo Pisarello, who repeats.

In a letter through social networks, Asens, until now president of the United We Can group in Congress, stated that “I have made the decision not to stand for the next elections. I am convinced that it is the best decision. I have come to the conclusion that there are people who can lead the organization better than myself in the new political cycle that is opening up” and added that this is a “more ambitious and plurinational agreement of progressive forces since the recovery of democracy” , in reference to the pact between Sumar and Podemos and other formations that offers “the opportunity for a woman to be president of Spain for the first time. In Comú Podem it also deserves to be led by a brave woman like Aina Vidal”.

For this reason, Asens assures that “in this moment full of hope, the renewed energy of new leadership is needed” and recalled that “it is not good to perpetuate oneself in politics”, in addition to recalling that he served a term in the Barcelona City Council and another in The congress. In addition, he is “convinced” that Vidal is “the best candidate at these crucial moments when we must face the threat of a democratic involution by those nostalgic for Francoism.”

He also wanted to thank the “accompaniment” of people like Ada Colau or Pablo Iglesias since “without their push and confidence, I would never have decided to take a step forward”. Asens concluded by remarking that he will continue “working from the base. Politics does not end in the institutions” to add “as always, we will see each other in the streets”.