Yesterday, the PSC registered a proposed law to reform the Parliament's regulations with which it wants to strip Laura Borràs of the presidency of the Parliament and prevent the recurrence of prolonged interim situations like the one the Catalan Chamber has been experiencing for the past eight months.
With this, the socialists add to the path of impeachment by the Central Electoral Board (JEC) a new formula to "normalize the institution" in the face of the "anomaly" caused by the leader's refusal to step down and the passivity of his party, Junts per Catalunya, to take over.
If it is taken into account that the possibility of withdrawing the lifetime economic allocation that would correspond to her as ex-president is being processed, the offensive against Borràs is aggravated.
In any case, the socialist initiative aims to introduce into the Parliament's regulations a kind of motion of censure aimed at any of the members of the Bureau of the Chamber. Thus, Borràs, who as president of the Parliament is also president of the Bureau, could be removed from office, if the Catalan Chamber verifies its "loss of confidence" in her through a vote, and a replacement could be chosen immediately.
With this reform, Borràs would not lose her status as deputy, something that can only be done by the JEC or a majority of the full Parliament by specific vote, the other two existing ways for her to cease in office if the leader does not resign.
But regardless of whether the JEC acts before the socialist proposal goes ahead, the PSC's movement prevents a return to an interim situation like the current one because, democratically, an absolute majority of the House could promote the impeachment of the President of the Parliament.
The proposed law of the PSC-United aims to solve a "legal gap", they point out, which does solve other autonomous parliamentary regulations and a democratic "anomaly". "It is surprising that we have a way to remove from office the president of the executive power [of the Generalitat] and not for the members of the Bureau of the Parliament, including the president", justify the socialists.
But, in addition, the first party of the Catalan Chamber takes the political initiative given the interim period that drags the institution, which is prolonged by the passivity of Junts when it comes to proposing an alternative candidate. In fact, this attitude causes even the socialists to reserve the possibility of presenting their own candidate, who could be elected with the support of the minority parties in the Catalan Chamber, although "it is not our priority", they say.
Illa wants to put Junts and ERC in front of the mirror. The former, for "subordinating the institution to their partisan interests", and the Republicans for not taking the reins in an affair that "is uncomfortable for them". The Borràs party avoids the issue by making a fuss in public with the lawfare denunciation of Borràs. Privately, they count the days until the JEC takes the initiative and dispossess the president of the seat.
The PSC proposal could go ahead in large part depending on what the ERC decides. Yesterday the republicans did not clarify a specific position, although Oriol Junqueras, in an interview with the ACN, redirected the pressure on Junts, urging him to propose an alternative candidate for the presidency of the Parliament so as not to have to weigh the reform proposed by the PSC: "If they decide to put the interests of a person before those of the country, we'll see."
Junqueras also took the opportunity to slander Junts: "People from JxCat did not want her to hold the presidency because she was accused of a case of alleged corruption long before 2017".
Yesterday the Government also urged the groups to unblock the interim in Parliament. "The scenario has changed because there is already a damning sentence", explained the spokeswoman, Patrícia Plaja.
The Socialists want to approve the initiative in less than a month. At the moment, En Comú Podemos welcomes the idea, the PP is ready to support it but it is not clear that it will "bring stability", and Ciutadans rejects it because it "delays the expulsion of Borràs until after the elections".
