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The pact reached last night between Inés Arrimadas and Pedro Sánchez to support the Government in extending the state of alarm for another 15 days has caused an internal bankruptcy in Ciudadanos. Thus, in the last few hours there have been two very significant losses for being totally against the decision made by the leadership of the orange formation : that of Juan Carlos Girauta, who was one of the party's heavyweights during the stage led by Albert Rivera, and that of Carina Mejías , former deputy in Parliament and Congress.

"We don't work as hard to build a hinge," Girauta reacted angrily on Twitter a few minutes after the deal was announced. A message in which he announced that he had made the sudden decision to formally communicate his withdrawal as a party affiliate.

Girauta has been for years one of the main leaders of Citizens. He has been part of the most relevant positions both in the national leadership headed by Albert Rivera and also in the Parliamentary Group in Congress, where he became the spokesperson in the first years. So his departure has an undoubted symbolic force.

Following Girauta's footsteps, Carina Mejías has also unsubscribed from Ciudadanos because, as she has argued, she finds it "impossible to share" the pact with Sánchez "after these difficult months and managing such devastating consequences for all Spanish people".

As he had previously expressed in another message, his opinion is that the Prime Minister "is not to be trusted." Mejías has been during his time in the autonomous deputy party in the Parliament of Catalonia, deputy in Congress and spokesman for the municipal group of the Barcelona City Council.

Despite the internal bankruptcy after these two slamming doors, the Arrimadas movement has met with applause from the critical sector of Ciudadanos. Francisco Igea , who vied against her for party leadership, came out in defense of the usefulness of the deal.

"The hinges allow us to open and close the doors through which the needs of citizens come and go. They don't look much, they don't seem important, but they are tremendously useful. With all the appreciation I have for you, it was the right thing to do. 30,000 dead are enough, "he wrote on Twitter in response to the door slamming given by Girauta.

Similarly, Manuel Valls has warmly applauded the agreement. Although he is not formally in Ciudadanos after past disagreements with Rivera after being his candidate for the Barcelona City Council, he is part of the ideological ecosystem. "Inés Arrimadas is right to offer support to the Government in these circumstances. Spain needs cooperation between the political forces of the center left and the center right and stability. Before the European Union it is essential," said the former French prime minister. His message is capped with an appeal to Pablo Casado to "choose the general interest".

Arrimadas returns to Congress

Amid the applause and reproaches, Inés Arrimadas has decided to return this Wednesday to physically occupy her seat in Congress, after being absent during the coronavirus from all the plenary sessions that have been held during the confinement. It so happens that the leader of Ciudadanos is pregnant and had to minimize any possibility of infection to preserve her health and that of the baby.

Earlier, in an interview on Telecinco, Arrimadas assured that his support is not a "blank check" to the government but that a pact had to be reached to avoid "health chaos" if it fell into alarm.

As for the criticism or the withdrawal of Girauta, he has avoided the controversy saying that he respected his decision and that he only had "good words" for him. Of course, he stressed that his decision had to think about what was "the best" for all Spaniards.

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  • Citizens
  • Inés Arrimadas
  • Juan Carlos Girauta
  • Manuel Valls
  • State of alarm
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19

PolicyInés Arrimadas will vote "for the general interest of the Spanish" in the extension of the state of alarm

PoliticsInés Arrimadas accuses Pedro Sánchez of "threatening chaos" and demands a plan to get out of the state of alarm

PoliticsPedro Sánchez ties the support of Citizens to the state of alarm and will manage the de-escalation with the autonomies to have PNV and ERC