The government this Friday drew the attention of Pedro Sánchez’s government to the fact that the political conflict in Catalonia is ongoing and will not end until a referendum on self-determination is held. The spokeswoman for the Catalan Executive insisted on this thesis last Tuesday at the end of the Executive Council, and this Friday the Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, reaffirmed it. Moncloa firmly rejects the proposal. “We know that it is complex and that the path will not be easy. But we are absolutely convinced that it is the line to end the political conflict,” Vilagrà said in an interview with Efe. “Without the voice of the citizens of Catalonia, the political conflict will not end.”
The government’s position directly clashes with that of Pedro Sánchez, who also defends that the process ended after the reform of the Penal Code, added to the pardons that made it possible to abolish the crime of sedition and reform that of embezzlement . The change, which goes into effect next week, has raised the criminal expectation of litigators and former government officials on trial. Vilagrà acknowledges the legal progress but stresses that in this second phase ERC intends to focus on the referendum and the conclusion of an amnesty. “Pedro Sánchez would be wrong if he believed that the conflict ended by opening the line of de-justice. On the contrary: Simply looking away will not end. You’ll need to open that folder sooner rather than later.”
After the huge uproar caused by the reform of the penal code, the government decided from the start to calm down the dialogue table and not to hold the meeting scheduled for last December. The Catalan executive reluctantly accepted that position last Tuesday but downplayed the cancellation of the call, claiming it will just be a photo to show the embezzlement and sedition agreements. The question remains as to when the next table will be held, given the upcoming local elections and the attrition the PSOE has suffered from high stakes. The government warns that the next appointment should also serve to show results.
From the start of the negotiations, the ERC has defended that the referendum is the most democratic formula for resolving the conflict, but it has met with the government’s insurmountable opposition. The diagnosis varies: Sánchez claims that the process is over, that Catalonia has entered a phase of “coexistence and harmony” and that it is time to end the rupture “once and for all”. The Catalan Socialists also reject the referendum as “divisive” and advocate looking ahead. The entire independence movement, not just ERC, rejects this analysis. President Pere Aragonès is calling for a “clarity pact” that lays down the conditions for a referendum, namely that half of the census must vote and that the “yes” to independence will be valid if it gets 55% of the votes.
In September, in the general political debate, Parliament rejected the Aragonès proposal, which only achieved the complicity of En Comú Podem (Junts abstained and the rest of the forces voted against). The Commons had defended a similar idea in the past, but this Thursday, Jéssica Albiach, their parliamentary leader, acknowledged that there is “not a sufficient majority” in the chamber for this pact and urged Aragonès to convene the Catalan parties’ table to make a decision “among all” what is “the great proposal of the country.” “The first thing to do is to make agreements in Catalonia,” replies Vilagrà. “Ideas often need a certain level of maturity to move forward and in the coming months we will work to build a strong coalition to go strong in Madrid.”
For months, the PSC has accused Aragonès of not calling the table of the Catalan parties, whose celebration was included in the agreements between the government and the ERC. Salvador Illa, first secretary of the PSC, usually accuses the president of leading by example when he always calls for dialogue. And not only that. The also opposition leader in Catalonia urged the ERC to stop “lying” and have the “courage” to tell the truth. “Catalonia has turned the page of the process and there will be no referendum. Enough fantasizing,” Illa said in December, visibly annoyed when he reiterated that the Catalans will vote for a deal going forward, but only on self-government.
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With local elections coming up, the ERC and PSC will fight to be the first political force. For weeks they have been negotiating the Catalan households, whose fate is now unknown. At the moment, the executive had to extend the accounts. With only 33 seats and a weak parliamentary majority, the government needs PSC (33) or Junts (31). The talks broke down because the PSC is asking political opponents to approve major projects (expansion of the airport, the B-40 round in Barcelona or the Hard Rock Café leisure complex).
Given its strategy in Congress, the ERC rejects the motions because it says issues beyond the project cannot be negotiated within budgets. In a letter to the militancy about the political course, Illa has demanded that Catalonia must have budgets. “With papers, with numbers, with methods. Without bumps and dangling,” he assures.
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