The vertiginous beginning of the political course, especially with regard to relations between the partners of the Government, has led, in just 15 days, to a ultimatumby togetherand the unchecking of CKD of the pro-independence unit around the ANC demonstration. The tagline to the Diada, the surprising proposal of the Assembly to make a declaration of independence in autumn 2023 It has been the straw that broke the camel’s back in this tortuous relationship between partners, not so much because of the substance, both parties agreed to reject it, but because of the forms.
For all this, Pere Aragones Y Laura Borras, president of Junts, met this Wednesday with their respective delegations, as EL PERIÓDICO has learned. On the table, from the general, the relations themselves, to the specific, the creation of that ‘general staff’ of independence, which some know as “strategic direction” (Junts) and others, as “strategic space of consensus” (ERC), and the two other demands of Junts: unity in Congress and the Senate, and that the dialogue table only address amnesty and self-determination.
The discreet meal, planned since last week, has lasted for more than six hours at the Palau de Pedralbes. There was a menu to choose from at lunch (some ordered two first courses) and fruit and small croissants for an afternoon snack. Sources present maintain that it has been “hard and demanding”, but that it has been the first step to rebuild bridges and pacify the Government. The appointment was attended, in addition to Aragonès and Borràs, by the ‘consellera’ of the Presidency, Laura VilagraEsquerra’s spokeswoman, Martha Vilalta; the chairman of the parliamentary group, Josep Maria Jove and the director of the office of strategy and communication of the ‘president’ and the Government, Sergi Sabria, on the Republican side. On the other side, in the post-convergence part, the general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull; the Vice President of the Government, Jordi Puignero; party spokesman, Joseph Rius, and the leader of the parliamentary group, Albert Batett.
According to Junts sources, the party put on the table as a priority that a new strategic direction of the ‘procés’ be articulated, with the presence of the pro-independence political forces and the entities, although voices from Esquerra maintain that beforehand there must be “trust and loyalty” between partners.
unanimous rejection
The paradox is that the summit at the highest level occurs after the unanimous rejection to the DUI of the ANC. And not only from the Government, but also from the AMI and the CUP, which leaves the Assembly alone. No one else is committed to setting deadlines for independence, much less in 2023, one year from now and in the middle of an electoral cycle that will measure them at the polls. That the independence entity raised the bet and in the meeting with the ‘president’ passed the ultimatum “independence or elections” to demand a DUI in 2023 “reduced credibility & rdquor; to the entity, says a prominent leader of the ‘procés’. “If at the Diada, with thousands of people in the street, you don’t say it, it’s because it wasn’t on the table & rdquor ;, he adds.
And it is that the umpteenth dispute starts from the story, from the forcefulness, from the accent: “In Catalonia there is a coalition government, not a monocolor”, stress the postconvergents, “so things have to be discussed and agreed upon”, postconvergent sources point out. “The debate about the calendar is ridiculous, what you have to do is look for a strategic space and create the conditions & rdquor ;, defends this voice of Junts. Now, that the ‘consellera’ of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, framed the meetings of the ‘vice president’ in the “private environment, when she received the entities in her office” and that she unambiguously rejected the ANC plan, was interpreted as an attack The republicans allege that the appointment of Puigneró did not appear reflected in the official agenda, “as it happens with the private meetings”.
The two against the three
But what’s hotter is that Vilagrà is seen as number two in the Government, not as number three. “It is very difficult to govern with so much noise & rdquor ;, add the postconvergents, and recall that they have put on the table three conditions to remain in the Consell Executiu.
Related news
Regarding the figure of Puigneró, the republican voices limit themselves to pointing out that the first ones who must believe in the figure of the vice president are the postconvergents themselves. As for the ultimatum, ERC considers that Junts’ demands do not have enough substance to deserve a crisis or “blackmail” like the one they carry out. “With the autumn winter approaching, with a crisis that will hit many and many who do not expect it, the last thing that can be considered is to break the Executiu that must face it,” these sources underline.
Precisely this was intended to remedy this Wednesday’s appointment. The objective is to channel an agreed solution so that Junts does not leave the Government and without the ERC giving up its main flags – that of dialogue and the power of its representation in Madrid. The deadline to forge a pact: the general policy debate, so the negotiations continue.