Catalonia and practical independence time

It is an excerpt from the newspaper Metternich edited by Alberto Simoni, the foreign editor of La Stampa. Analysis, reading advice, reportage, characters every Wednesday. To be able to get it every week you can register here

Catalonia has a new President and a new regional government (Generalitat). The mildly behaved Pere Aragones – 38 years old, a graduate in law – leads a bipartisan cabinet made up of “consuls” (ministers) from his training, Esquerra Republikana de Catalunya (pro-independence and social-democratic) and Junts per Catalunya (Center-rights pro-independence)). In the February 14 elections, the two armies were nearly tied (35,000 votes and a seat difference), but Aragones overtook his rival, Laura Borus, who became the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament. This is the first time since the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) that an exponent of Esquerra arrived after the election under the chairmanship of the Generalitat. The last was the Luis Company, which was captured by the Gestapo in France and shot down in 1940 by order of General Franco. This circumstance gives the Aragonnes Presidency a higher symbolic value.

This government was born after several weeks of complicated and tedious negotiations between the two partners. Junts for Catalunya (led by former President Carles Puigdemont from his exile in Waterloo) and Escera (led by Oriol Junqueras from prison) have been slow to reach an agreement because they deeply disagree on the strategy that the Freedom Movement had Have to follow.
The Junts believe that objectives can only be achieved through conflict with Madrid, while the latter are betting on a possible turning point in the style of Scottish independence, in order to expand social support for the cause To be. It should be remembered that Esquerra, which is the independence party with the largest number of deputations in the Spanish Parliament, is part of the majority that guarantees the stability of the national government governed by the coalition of Psoe and Podemos.
Despite these basic differences, Escera and Junts remain committed to governance (they also hold the votes of the CUP, a small far-left independence group), prioritizing the fight against the economic and social crisis posed by Kovid , But forgetting the goal of an agreed referendum, such as the one London provided to Scotland in 2014.
On the other hand, Aragones – a libertarian – must immediately restore prestige to the institution, battered in the previous phase, when President Torah (replacement of Pugdemont) called for a symbolic confrontation with the state and was rejected by the court.

In theory, Catalonia is now entering a new phase that must be of political normalization, so that the Catalan conflict can be redirected on the path of negotiation. In order for this to be possible, it is necessary that Madrid make a gesture that allows to reduce tensions and reinforce the practical separatists of the Escara.
This gesture could only be a pardon to the nine freedom leaders who are serving prison sentences for the October 2017 incidents. It may arrive in summer and – even though the authority will use it to create a media storm – Sanchez and his ministers are determined to tread the path.
To talk in-depth about the Catalan conflict, separatists and President Sanchez have decided to promote a dialogue table that, after its creation, was frozen not only because of the health crisis. The table should begin, but socialists have insisted that self-determination referendums have no place in the legal framework.

This being the case, it therefore seems a common knowledge idea that the Spanish government should present an alternative and intermediate solution that would allow the situation to be unblocked. The PSOE fears that it will have to make concessions to Catalonia at the time of the vote.
The Catalan independence movement is stuck between the promises of its maximalism, its internal weaknesses, and the reality of a Spanish power that leads to centrality and uniformity. This is true, but since Spain cannot govern in a state of permanent upheaval with Catalonia, it is necessary to seek a new approach. We’ll see if Pere Aragonès and Pedro Sanchez have the courage and imagination that is needed at the moment.

Francesc-Marc वारlvaro, journalist and political analyst, is a columnist for the newspaper La Vanguardia and author of the essay Ensayo General de Una Revuelta. Translation Carla Reschia. Has been done by