Of the five options for a referendum that the committee of experts has proposed within the framework of a clarity agreement, Pere Aragonès is left with only one: the one that proposes a vote only in Catalonia in an agreed manner. That the political conflict can be resolved by calling the entire citizenry of the State to vote does not even cross his mind. Neither does the fifth option, which would involve the combination of a simultaneous referendum in Catalonia and another in the rest of Spain.
"This type of proposal would consist, for example, of consulting the citizens of Catalonia about the convenience of the Parliament of Catalonia initiating a process of constitutional reform that could contemplate independence and/or a new accommodation within the State." This is the possibility included in the report to which the president referred. But Aragonès ends up clinging to a footnote to this same point, in which the model chosen for Scotland in 2014 is given as an example, with a concise question and binary answer.
Aragonès wanted to be forceful: "Our proposal is very clear, a referendum on the independence of Catalonia in Catalonia, and for citizens to decide with a yes or no." And if the result is favorable to secession, "it will have to be implemented," stated the head of the Government, through the dialogue of governments and parliamentary chambers. "The other options are not the Government's options," he stated.
The president of the Generalitat has held an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Council this morning to share the report with councillors. It was after the appointment when he appeared in the Gothic gallery of the Palau de la Generalitat.
The modality chosen by Aragonès could even be complementary to another of the options that the experts considered so that only Catalan citizens could vote. This second proposal would be a “ratification referendum”: it is negotiated, all the terms are agreed upon, and the day after the vote, a referendum is called. This ratification consultation, according to the academic council, would almost certainly end up taking place in the first of the modalities. However, the president has not assumed it.
Now, Aragonès's intention is to take his option to the Institut d'Estudis d'Autogovern so that it can specify the legal paths that can validate a referendum. Once Pedro Sánchez's investiture debate is over, whatever the result, he will convene a table of Catalan parties to explain his proposal as president. In any case, the clarity agreement that the Government is trying to forge will not condition the investiture of the leader of the PSOE.
Marc Sanjaume, president of the academic council that signs the report, has recommended the participation of an international mediator, although he has not considered it "indispensable", despite the fact that it is "an increasing trend." Furthermore, he has agreed to a certain extent with the opinion of the head of the Government by stating that any possibility that involves a vote in the entire State “would potentially further block the conflict” and that “it would not resolve it.” “It would be a majority of the state majority,” he concluded. Likewise, he has considered that the role of the Constitutional Court is fundamental and should exercise more of a “referee” function than a blocking one, as has happened until today. Experts trust a change in the TC's position.
Sanjaume spoke like this at a press conference at 10 in the morning, three hours before the president appeared, with whom he met along with the other eight members of the council of experts.
