Francina Armengol Socias (Inca, 1971) has been the new president of the Congress of Deputies since last Thursday. She was elected with 178 votes (absolute majority) in the first great test of strength of a legislature with an uncertain path. The former president of the Balearic Government thus returns to the forefront of politics, after the defeat of the left on the islands, on May 28, mainly as a result of the collapse of United We Can in the labyrinthine lawsuit with Sumar. Trained in the autonomist school of Balearic socialism, Armengol represents the most federalist wing of the PSOE and knows Barcelona. Her profile does not displease the pro-independence parties and she knows how to read the lines in Sanskrit that the Catalan politician writes several times a month. The new president received La Vanguardia last Friday at the headquarters of the Congress.
Where is this legislature headed?
I don't have a magic ball. I can only say that I have assumed the presidency of the Congress with great emotion and enthusiasm, and with a great sense of responsibility. This could be a legislature of great advances.
It has already been received by the King and on Monday the head of state begins the round of consultations. Will times be fast?
After the consultations, the King will notify me of his decision, as established in the Constitution. It is not for me to advance as the times will be, since I do not know.
Once the King's decision is known, it will be up to the Congress Table to set a date for the investiture debate. Will times be fast?
That decision must be made by the Bureau, which will meet immediately. I cannot make a forecast about the times now. I can only tell you that I will do my best to make everything run as quickly as possible.
In her first speech, after being elected, she read some verses by the poet Salvador Espriu, which were widely recited in Catalonia in the 1970s. Those verses from the collection of poems La pell de brau in which Espriu asks Sepharad (Spain) to try to understand the reasons and the words of her children. Fifty years later, a part of Catalonia has stopped believing in La pell de brau. And there is a part of Spain that prefers the rudeness of the Iberian arena. Is there historical time left for the reunion? Could this be the legislature of plurinational Spain?
Spain is a country of wonderful diversity, in which different languages, cultures and identities coexist. That diversity should be a source of pride for everyone. That is the real Spain. Therefore, I believe that the Congress of Deputies, the depositary chamber of national sovereignty, should be the expression of that real Spain that is a plural and diverse Spain. This approach can contribute to bringing citizens closer to the institutions. I will work in that direction.
Philosophy is understood, but what name do we give to plural Spain? Plurinational Spain? Federal Spain?
I think names are the least of it. The important thing is that this dynamic advances and that citizens feel represented in it. You have to weave, you have to build bridges.
It seems to me that you are referring to a musical thread, to the creation of an environment, of an atmosphere. However, in his speech there was not only background music. He announced that in upcoming sessions of Congress the deputies will be able to speak in Catalan, Basque and Galician. That was one of the points agreed upon by his party with Junts per Catalunya and Esquerra Republicana, with the support of Sumar. How will that agreement be executed?
In my first speech I tried to be clear, indeed. It seems wonderful to me that the official languages in various territories can be reflected in Congress. The first thing that I am going to do is a round with the parliamentary groups. I would like the agreement to be comprehensive. Then we will enter into the material execution of the agreement.
Do you have legal backing?
Legally it is clear. The Regulations of the Congress do not prevent taking this initiative. The Regulations of the Congress do not establish what language must be used in the debates. I insist, my first intention is to meet with the groups in search of a broad agreement. That is now my goal. It is obvious that not all the deputies know all the languages of Spain, therefore we must look for technical solutions to make understanding possible in the debate and also the understanding of the spectators who follow the debates through the audiovisual media. First, it goes around with the parties in search of a broad regulatory agreement; then the technique.
Twenty-four hours had not passed since his first speech in Congress and lively discussions were already igniting about the use of languages in Congress. The new government of the Generalitat Valenciana, now made up of the Popular Party and Vox, maintains that Valencian is being marginalized, the name given in the Valencian Community to the variable of the Catalan language spoken by a large part of its inhabitants. You are from the Balearic Islands. Know the subject well. What do you think? Is the language spoken by Valencians being marginalized?
In the first place, I must say that I am glad that the current Valencian government is interested in the novelty that will mean that the Congress of Deputies becomes an expression of Spanish linguistic diversity. I think that interest is good news. I will work so that all the citizens of this country who have a co-official language in their territory can see it reflected in Congress, used by their legitimate representatives. That is important, very important. I ask for a serene reflection on it. This can have great pedagogical value for the young generations. Regarding the discussion on linguistic variables, look, I am a politician, not a philologist. I assume the resolutions of the Valencian Academy of Language (AVL) which are very clear. [In 2013, the AVL ruled that Valencians, Catalans, Balearic Islands and inhabitants of other former territories of the former Crown of Aragon speak the same language. Subsequently, in 2014, the AVL established that this common language can be called Catalan. In the Valencian Community the name of Valencian prevails and thus appears in its statute of autonomy].
How can this dispute, from old roots, be resolved?
I will work so that after so many years of discussions, projects and attempts, the Galicians, the Basques, the Navarrese, the Catalans, the Balearic Islands and the Valencians can see their speech reflected in Congress.
Don't you think that a language law would be needed to develop the constitutional mandate to protect minority languages in Spain?
I am not going to comment now on whether a language law is necessary in Spain. Now I am going to focus on understanding that all the languages spoken in Spain are the heritage of the Spanish people and that it is important that they are perceived as a collective wealth, also in the Congress of Deputies. The Senate has already taken that step. The Instituto Cervantes has been working in a very important and commendable way along this line.
The paradox could arise that in a few months it will be easier to speak Catalan in Congress than in some areas or public offices in the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community, according to the proposals that Vox has put forward to the PP.
I hope is not like that. It would be very sad if we made progress in Congress and in the European institutions and there were policies to restrict some bilingual communities.
Have you already been able to press the atmosphere at the Congress Table? Will they understand each other?
We have already had a first meeting and the atmosphere has been cordial. All the machinery must be set in motion for the Congress to work. Important days are coming.
Are you president of Congress to help loosen Pedro Sánchez's relations with Carles Puigdemont? Are you the socialist leader with the best relations with the former president of the Generalitat?
I haven't spoken to Mr. Puigdemont for a long time. I coincided with him when he presided over the Generalitat de Catalunya and I was in charge of the government of the Balearic Islands. And we collaborate. I have always defended that neighboring communities should collaborate. And with Catalonia, the Balearic Islands share many things: history, culture, language, economic interests... and the Mediterranean Sea.
Do you see the PSOE cohesive before this new legislature?
Yes, totally.
Are you the last maragallista of Spanish politics?
(Smiles) I greatly admired Pasqual Maragall. He was studying in Barcelona, when he was the mayor of the Olympic city. And then I had the honor of meeting him and talking with him. Before he fell ill, he was a man with a long-term vision and that interests me a lot.
