The debate about the existence of Spain as a nation seemed destined, like a centuries-old tradition, to be raised no further back by the political parties of Catalonia as an essential protocol of the negotiations on the eventual inauguration of the socialist Pedro Sánchez. But it was the PNV that spoke out, with the formal appearance of a proposal, isolated from the negotiations, to make the PSOE leader president of the government or not. History also confirms the prominent role of Basque nationalists as well as Galicians and Catalans of liberal and centrist orientation in the demand for self-government. Any change will affect the majority of autonomous communities that are not part of Catalonia. Basque Country or Galicia. Everyone will raise their hands vigilantly and warn. The PSOE has a consolidated theoretical arsenal accumulated over a dozen years, uses the rules of the Constitution as a framework and is aware of the legal difficulties that Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu’s declaration of intent poses, without specifying them, but with the premise that it is not necessary to change the Basic Law. For non-nationalist communities, the majority of which are now governed by the PP, balance and respect for equality necessarily depend on economic resources; for the renewal of the financing model, which has expired a decade ago. The interlocutors interviewed strongly claim that there was no prior agreement between Basque and Catalan nationalists, although the Basque president’s proposal could indirectly serve as a negotiating platform for Junts, ERC and the PSOE. Separately.
Not only historical reasons, but also those of identity and language can be the driving force that moves autonomous communities to address their uniqueness through regulatory changes. Lehendakari Urkullu’s proposal, expressed in an article in El PAÍS on August 31, has added a new nuance to the negotiating agenda of the Socialists and their Sumar partners. But it has also put the rest of the communities on alert and are completely unwilling to allow any other community to take advantage of this. The Valencian Community will be at the forefront of all regional negotiations and Andalusia will do the same. In the first part, former President Ximo Puig, a socialist, recalled that the Valencian Community was waiting for significant improvements; His successor, the popular Carlos Mazón, will use more cautious language to demand to take part in all negotiations, as will Andalusia, with its president Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla of the PP at the helm. The socialist Emiliano García-Page, once again President of Castile-La Mancha, remains cautious until he knows what Urkullu’s proposal and with it the entire PNV can bring to explore the Anglo-Saxon figure of a constitutional convention that he wants to achieve a significant increase the self-government of the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, as they were communities with recognized political specificities before the 1978 Constitution, “and, where appropriate, Navarre”. Urkullu is not limited only to these three municipalities, which are partners for different purposes in Galeusca, the acronym for Galicia, the Basque Country and Catalonia, in sporadic historical phases, the first in 1923, but as a whole. Self-government for the historical, within a plurinational or federal model that affects everyone.
In the current context of inexorable confrontation between the two national majority parties, PSOE and PP, it is very risky to set the goal that, if there is no repeat of the elections, this will be “the territorial legislature”. There are no limits to the proposal of the incumbent second vice president and chairwoman of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. She outlines this line of work together with that of progress in social policy. Nevertheless, and without removing deep doubts, the possibilities of a territorial negotiation without the national consent of the PP and the PSOE, the voice of the regional presidents, are crucial and for some territorial interlocutors it will be above that of the national leaders. The interviewed interlocutors from different territories favor the relevance of regional heads of government in general and even more so when the national leader is not the president of the Spanish government but the leader of the opposition. This reality is not alien to the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, precisely because he was President of Galicia for three terms and exercised his political autonomy fully without being tied to the national leadership of his party. His successor as President of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, will not shy away from the debate about greater self-government for this community. Regardless of whether a negotiating table based on the autonomous model is proposed or not, the voice of the regional presidents and their leaders will be very present in the opposition, especially the PSOE. His key leaders will be fellow Senate chairs. The Valencian, Ximo Puig; Guillermo Fernández-Vara from Extremadura, second vice-president of the Upper House; The Aragonese Javier Lambán and the Riojan Concha Andreu, until a few weeks ago socialist presidents of their municipalities, will be essential players when the dialogue takes shape on whether autonomous Spain will acquire a different dimension of competence and relationship with the central administration. Juan Lobato, general secretary of the Madrid Socialists, also does not want to be left out of this debate and, like the other territorial barons, will carry out his activity in the regional parliament, the Madrid Assembly, at the same time as that of senator for his community.
There is still no agreement within the PSOE or with the PNV, nor between the Basque party and the Junts per Catalunya, which were ideologically similar in many previous phases and are now at a significant distance. This distance did not prevent Urkullu from objectively contributing with his theoretical construction to the PSOE talking about self-management not only with it, but also with Carles Puigdemont’s party. However, the many legal doubts and warnings are not resolved. However, in government they are confident that public opinion will not turn their backs on them because they are trying to make a government pact with Sumar and the nationalists. In the 40dB studio. For EL PAÍS and SER, this Monday shows that a majority agrees with this government option and the recognition of Spain’s diversity. And not just among progressive voters.
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