Xavier Torrens (Essen, Germany, 1966), sociologist and professor of political science at the University of Barcelona, certainly the one who has done the most in-depth study. Catalan Alliance. Based on numerous personal interviews with its leader and after deep immersion … In the political phenomenon associated with Silvia Orioles, he wrote “Save Catalonia”. “The Evolution of Catalan National Populism” (Ed. Pòrtic), dissecting a party with the latest measure of the State Opinion Institute (CEO). Placed on the same level as together In the dispute for third place. The CEO’s statements confirm what Torrens already predicted in his book.
The CEO’s statements confirm that Catalonia is not a political island.
actually. It is consistent with the rise of far-right populism in Europe and most Western countries. The force that makes national populism the first force in Italy, France and Austria, the second in Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal, or the third in Spain, as is the case with the Vox party. The strange thing is that Alianza is the eighth and last force in the Catalan Parliament. What the barometer confirms is that Catalan national populism is on its way to keeping pace with other similar European powers.
The personality of Silvia Orioles is very similar to the personalities of other charismatic leaders of European parties. What role do you play in this rise?
Critical role. Orioles is an attractive woman who can be compared to Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France or Alice Weidel in Germany. I have interviewed her dozens of times, and she is a person who believes in what she says and says what she believes. This gives him an authenticity that is highly valued by his current voters and among his potential voters. He presents himself as a person of the people to attack the elites. An industrious person, he was a meliorista, far from any prosperous state. This authenticity gives her a tremendous ability to seduce, which explains her rise. And his image contributes to this: because of his appearance and clothing, he could be someone from the left like the Communards, Sumar or CUP. She is an ordinary person, with unique characteristics such as being a mother of five children. He has a different appearance, for example, from that of Santiago Abascal, whose clothes are characteristic of the leader of the Popular Party. The Orioles can appeal to voters across the parliamentary spectrum.
How would you personally define that?
He is a person of great intelligence, but no intellectual profile. With university training, but without a strong cultural background, which is in line with the average current politicians. When I say intelligent I don’t just mean the idea of an intelligent person: in order to understand us, he is an intuitive person who writes his speeches diligently, and is very clear about what he wants to say. He is not a puppet person by any means. He is intelligent and persistent, but at the same time he is open to feeding off ideas suggested to him by others.
Who are the main characters in Alianca, other than the Orioles themselves?
trinity. Jordi Aragones, Minister of Studies and Programs, is the theorist and his model is Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s first election strategist in the United States; Oriol Guis, organizing secretary, directs the poetic expansion of the party throughout the territory; The shortlist was completed by Aurora Fornos, an important leader in Tarragona, with the qualifications of a leader alongside the Orioles, whom she legally protects, as she is a professor of administrative law.
Charismatic leadership
“He presents himself as a person of the people, against the elites. View the property
A group of women wearing hijab in the streets of downtown Ripoll (Girona), this week
Photography by Adrian Quiroga
Alyanka’s growth is very accelerated. What could be your major brake?
It will happen to Alianca like the French party of Marine Le Pen, which first became strong in rural areas, then conquered small and medium-sized cities, and the place that is most difficult for them to penetrate is Paris. Looking at the domestic games in 2027, Alianza has its sights set on Vic, Olot, Manresa, Lleida, Girona, Reims, Valls, Sitges, Mataro… It will be difficult for them to establish themselves in Barcelona’s urban area, but we will see what happens in the capital. The difference with France is that the growth of air conditioning is much faster; Accelerating like the Portuguese Chiga party, which went from one MP in 2019 to 60 MPs in 2025. This impressive rise resembles that of Giorgia Meloni, with a simultaneous fact: in the first election she is running, she received 3.7% support, the same percentage that Orioles received in the Catalan elections of 2024. Meloni is already Prime Minister of Italy, without meaning to say that Orioles will be President of Italy. Catalonia in the upcoming elections.
Specifically, with the idea of growing beyond its natural borders, Alianca is adjusting her rhetoric: she is no longer focused on independence but on anti-immigration.
They take the independence movement for granted, which is a completely conscious strategy. It combines two political feelings: resentment against immigrants and fear of insecurity. This allows it to grow and attract voters from across the parliamentary spectrum, even those who do not identify as Catalan nationalists. The Orioles like to highlight their victory in all the polling stations in Ripoll, as well as in the Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. It may surprise many, but there will be circumstances in which voters vote for Alianza Catalana in the municipal and regional elections and in the general election, where the AC has said it does not plan to attend, they vote for the Vox Party. The Popular Alliance attracts very different categories of voters: voters from the Junts, ERC and CUP, but also from Vox, PP, Socialists and the general public. His anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric ends up finding voters in the rest of the parties.