The most credible reason is to be able to defend “the amnesty and the end of repression” under more spotlights than it usually has in Catalonia.
Golden opportunity to project yourself or suicidal mission? This is the unknown posed by the decision of the ‘president’ of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to go to the Senate this Thursday to defend alone the amnesty in a format that from the beginning has been perceived as a trap by the PP to wear down Pedro Sánchez and the independence parties negotiating the investiture. Aragonès will go without support, since the Lendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, the Government and the socialist barons who had the right to do so have refused to go.
Despite the obvious dangers of the decision, the president and his team see it as an opportunity that they couldn’t let go. The most credible reason is to be able to defend “amnesty and the end of repression“under more spotlights than it usually has in Catalonia. Furthermore, the non-appearance of the hard core of the PSOE allows it to search a duel with the PP which, at least from a Catalan perspective, increases expectations of the event.
From the Palau de la Generalitat They do not hide that one of the axes of the intervention – which will be in Catalan – will seek to confront the popular ones. “We will not let the PP use Catalonia for their partisan interests when they have been promoters of political repression”, they warn. Another of the axes, not leaving the message about Catalonia in the hands of others: “The ‘president’ speaks about Catalonia”, maintain the same Palau sources. Finally, there is also some epic and pride: “We are not afraid to go,” he defended on Tuesday the ‘counsellor’ Laura Vilagrà.
But Aragonès’s decision to go to the Senate It also has another less credible explanation. He gives him a golden opportunity to project himself in the midst of the investiture negotiations. If the president has had one problem since the general elections in July, it has been making a place for himself on this issue. He first saw how Together assumed all the protagonism and then, when Sanchez had to approach Esquerraby protocol he spoke with Oriol Junqueras -president of ERC- and Gabriel Rufian -leader in Congress-. This Thursday, the microphone will be for him.
‘Express’ intervention
Taking advantage of the spotlight, the ‘president’ will not only address the amnesty, but will also use it to talk about the other two ERC conditions for the investiture. His renewed commitment to the referendum -through the clarity agreement- and the petition of the transfer of Rodalies. Of course, his presence in the Senate will be ‘express’. He will have the first turn to speak – about 10 minutes – and then he will leave, citing “agenda” reasons. In the afternoon he receives the Commissioner of Labor and Social Rights at the Palau de la Generalitat, Nicolas Schmit.
Once Aragonès leaves and they take their turn to speak the eleven presidents of the PPwill be the ERC spokesperson in the Senate, Sara Bailac, the one who gives them the reply for a period of 10 minutes. Sources from the Republican party explain that she will be the only one to speak and no other senator by autonomous appointment will do so. The PSOE will have even less representation, which, after the sit-in of the Government and its regional presidents, will only be represented by its spokesperson in the Commission, the former candidate for the Junta de Andalucía. Javier Espadas.
The only presence that Junts will have will be that of its spokesperson in the upper house, Josep Lluís Cleries, although this Tuesday they already made it clear in the chamber that they demand a “clear, concrete and technically indisputable” amnesty. They will not miss the opportunity to intervene either the EH Bildu senator Mario Zubiaga and the PNV Maria Dolores Etxano the senators of More Madrid, Commitments and Geroa Baialthough they will do so for a shorter time.
The PP seeks to corner Sánchez
The debate comes after the PP has imposed itself in the Senate a couple of motions against Sánchez and the negotiation with the independence parties. In the last one, approved this Tuesday, the socialists ended up allying themselves with ERC and Junts in the face of criticism from the conservatives. The socialist spokesperson, Eva Granadosavoided talking about the amnesty, but made clear his willingness to negotiate, as long as the agreements are within the Constitution.
This Thursday the PP will show in the Senate the great territorial power it has at the autonomous level. A dozen presidents will go to the Upper House to try corner Sánchez for the amnesty, a measure with which they believe that “equality among Spaniards will end.” The absolute majority What the Popular Party enjoys in the Senate will allow them to promote initiatives week after week to try to laminate the Government, if the leader of the PSOE finally manages to be sworn in and the legislature gets going.
The photography that the PP is going to achieve is going to be very powerful, although Alberto Núñez Feijóo He is not planning to attend the debate. As reported by the party and the parliamentary group, because it believes that it would seem that it is going to “supervise” to their presidents and to avoid appearing to make partisan use of the Senate. This Wednesday, Esteban González Pons, deputy secretary of the formation, heated up the atmosphere by calling Aragonès a “dictator” for saying that he will not stay to listen to the rest of the regional leaders.