The opposition in Parliament won another parliamentary group yesterday. Junts per Catalunya broke with Esquerra Republicana when the halfway point of the Catalan legislature had not yet been crossed.
The militancy of the formation, in a consultation that lasted two days, pronounced a majority (55.73%) in favor of leaving the Government of the Generalitat, in which they had been partners of the Republicans in the last three legislatures, if Junts pel Yes is taken into account.
In favor of continuity, 42.39% positioned themselves, so that in this case the bases have been paid to the thesis of the suspended president of the Parliament and president of JxCat, Laura Borràs, who on this occasion has coincided with the former president of the Generalitat and former leader of the party, Carles Puigdemont.
And as soon as he left the Government, the first act of opposition arrived. Jordi Turull and Borràs questioned the legitimacy of a solo Republican Executive since President Pere Aragonès was sworn in thanks to his and the CUP's support. The president of Junts, in fact, reminded the chief executive that of the 74 deputies who voted for him in May 2021, he only has 33 left.
In the formation they did not pronounce clearly on what the president of the Generalitat should do now, but they marked the way for him: a question of confidence in the Catalan Chamber or new elections – a possibility that some leaders such as Joan Canadell verbalized.
"It should be submitted to a consultation in Parliament, its democratic legitimacy has been called into question," said Borràs. "Junts wins and Pere Aragonès loses, because we think he would be capable of leading a coalition government and that has not been the case," added the leader.
Turull, more cautious, pointed out that "from now on there is an issue of democratic radicalism." “It is legitimate that he has support from other forces, but it would be nice to know thanks to whom. That is the question. But it is not a decision of Junts”, asserted the secretary general, who wanted to insist on that idea when asked if they will require a matter of trust, a mechanism that can only be activated by the chief executive. “Perhaps there are alternative majorities, it would be good to know what they are. A 52% was made. Now it would be good for them to know what alternative there is”, reiterated the former Minister of the Presidency.
And elections? “The question would have to be put to President Aragonès. I am clear about what I would do if they invest me with 74 votes and there are 41 deputies who no longer trust me for not complying with the Government's agreements”, stressed Turull.
The rupture between the two partners of the Government, who had a more than complex relationship for years, has occurred after JxCat denounced since the end of August breaches of the investiture agreement that they signed in May 2021 Jordi Sànchez, then secretary general of the postconvergents, and Aragonès. "The defaults are what give instability," they say in Junts.
The formation warned on August 29 that "it could not continue like this" after presenting an audit on the degree of compliance with that pact. The breaches reported refer to the procés, rather than to the sectoral scope. That is why JxCat now wants the president to go through the cotton test in Parliament and make it clear that the support he has is no longer from the independence movement, but from the tripartite – the PSC has already lent itself to guaranteeing the stability of the republicans and even Pedro Sánchez spoke in that sense from Madrid; and the commons also await their turn.
Puigdemont valued that his training has managed to "force a debate on the strategy for independence, what use is given to the instruments of self-government and on the relationship with Madrid." In addition, as Borràs and Turull did, he criticized the stories regarding internal fractures, although the party's cadres have shown that opinion is divided on this strategic issue... and that some leaders have spoken these days of the risk of rupture or split if they opted for continuity in Palau. “We have opted for unity”, the president of Junts wanted to settle.
In the immediate plans of the postconvergents, it is included to make "opposition as God intended", as the deputy of the formation pointed out when leaving the executive meeting in which the results of the consultation were analyzed.
“With more difficulty, but we will be ourselves and believe in our project. More than a disaster, this will be a shock, "said Turull, making a virtue of necessity. He also remarked that even if they leave the Government "they do not disregard anything or anyone." "Firm and responsible opposition," concluded Borràs.
In the formation they believe that now they will be able to defend in the Catalan Chamber without complexes and without the corset of the coalition their program and the roadmap that they approved in the congress this summer, which in some aspects such as taxation collided with the postulates of the ERC .
In fact, in Parliament they had already voted differently on economic issues like that or others related to infrastructure or the Winter Olympics, a project already buried.
Thus, after the fifth anniversary of 1-O and in the legislature in which the independence movement has more seats and percentage of votes, ERC and Junts have put an end to their tortuous relationship. But Turull wanted to send a message to those who want to "pray the response of the independence movement": "Let them know that there is no tearing of anything."
“In all the spaces that have to be re-sealed, promoted and taken into action, we will be there”, he ventured. "Neither resignation, nor resignation, nor surrender, this does not weaken the independence space," he sentenced.
