Artur Mas has taken no time in laying out his strategy for the nationalist federation: contest the legitimacy of the new leftwing government that will be presided over by José Montilla and put himself forward as the "moral president" of Catalonia. By taking this line, which is justified as well as playing the victim, it seems difficult that CiU can encourage the electorate to come out in force for the spring municipal elections. We will have to see if turning the municipal elections into a second round of the parliamentary vote by presenting them as a choice between the tripartite government or CiU is the best strategy. In any case, CiU can see room for manoeuvre in the council elections in order to end its political isolation (imposed, say some, and the result of the electoral campaign, according to others) in the Parlament de Catalunya. Unusual and alternative alliances between parties–CiU-PP and PSC-ERC-ICV– should allow the party that Mas leads to find a way out of the complicated situation it is in today. Avoiding self-criticism, taking an overly aggressive tone and burning bridges is not the solution. Montilla-Carod-Saura do not have an easy job. Nor has Artur Mas.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The ninth legislature of the Catalan parliament will convene this week followed by the formal exchange of power between the outgoing president of the Generalitat, Pasqual Maragall, and the new leader, José Montilla. The understandable outrage of nationalist voters and supporters who point out that Artur Mas will yet again find himself in the opposition despite having gained more seats has lead to all sorts of contempt for Catalonia’s leader for the coming years. If the alliance between the PSC, ERC and the ICV-EUiA holds, naturally. I say that Montilla, the ex-mayor of Cornellà, ex-president of the Diputació of Barcelona and ex-minister, has been insulted. But the presidency of the Generalitat is obviously greater than the sum of these accomplishments. Catalonia in its entirety is the most important political endeavor for any Catalan dedicating his or herself to public service. Montilla will have to show that he believes this and understands the scale of his new post. For the moment, I won’t criticise the man. Basically, this is because he achieved in a few weeks what others have been trying for years. I just hope he hits the ground running.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The ERC's wager to pact with the socialists and the green party, thrusting José Montilla into the presidency of the Generalitat, widens a schism between supporters of Catalan sovereignty. Even members of CiU who strongly supported an accord with ERC will have a hard time getting over this one. Now there is a wider gap than ever between partisans of sovereignty and it seems that only time will help heal the damage though a mid-term reconciliation seems unlikely. The strategy of supporters of independence manages to marginalise Artur Mas, putting him in the opposition despite his election victory. The Catalan Parliament could have had a nationalist majority (ERC and CiU have 69 representatives) but Carod-Rovira and Joan Puigcercós preferred to favour a moderately leftist progressive pact. The new government, called the Alliance for national progress, claims their decision will help move beyond a crisis-riddled legislature. They won't have it easy but the situation for CiU, in the opposition with 48 seats, isn't enviable either. The coming weeks will be tough.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The elections for the Parlament of Catalonia held yesterday were the first in which the candidates promoted themselves on the web with a ".cat" internet suffix. For a year now a special domain extension to represent the Catalan linguistic and cultural sphere has been available on the internet. The candidates were able to run their campaigns from their .cat web sites, which in itself is a symbolic but important victory. Thanks to Catalan society, the Països Catalans have gained virtual sovereignty, which is the envy of other stateless nations, such as the Basque Country and Galicia. The political term that now begins, despite yesterday's result, will be inevitably dominated by the implementation of the Estatut d’Autonomia. The bar must be raised to the maximum as far as powers and the resources of self-government for Catalonia are concerned. It will not be easy, due to the endemic resistance of centralised Spanish power. The lesson to be learnt from .cat is a good one for the leaders of the new government. A lot of perseverance, intelligence, diplomacy and working with civil society to move ahead, even if the advances are more modest than we would otherwise like.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
Catalonia needs a foreign office to promote its image as a country on an international level, and to ensure success when European policies are planned and coordinated. Under Jordi Pujol's long presidency in the Generalitat and, to a lesser extent, during the problematic mandate of Pasqual Maragall, Catalonia has skillfully managed to make up for its scarce institutional resources at an international level. It is no easy task for a stateless nation to present itself on the international stage. That’s why the Catalan government should create a ministry of foreign and overseas affairs, under the management of the presidency, or the first minister, should one exist. Notwithstanding the political affiliations of the actual government, the country's institutions must be given powerful promotion mechanisms. This has obviously occurred to all of Catalonia’s political parties, as ERC [link, pdf 79 pages], CiU [link and link] and ICV-EUiA [zip and zip] all include the creation of such a ministry in their programs, while the PSC [pdf 312 pages] simply makes reference to it, while stopping short of deeming it necessary. And the PP [pdf 199 pages] obviously don't want to hear anything about such an idea.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The electoral precampaign seemed very dull, with candidates lacking in charisma such as Artur Mas and José Montilla, who hope to replace Pasqual Maragall, the president of Catalonia, and with a national perspective that has been very limited by the recent Estatut. The tone was initially subdued, but last weekend, before the campaign formally began, everything changed with the publication of a million copies of the CiU DVD ConfidencialCAT, which attacks the left-wing tripartite. The nationalists say they were inspired by Michael Moore's films against Bush, and that their DVD is based on real events. CiU has disinterred a political cadaver, the tripartite, and is considering possible allies the day after the election. However, the fact is, the DVD may help to increase electoral participation, as the more apathetic left-wing voters have shown signs of life. Most polls place CiU as the winner of the elections. Let's wait-and-see to what extent the progress of the campaign, and surprises such as the controversial DVD shakes and electoral stage that, days before, had looked very favourable for CiU’s chances on November 1.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The match between the Catalan and Basque national teams last Sunday turned Camp Nou into a festival of pride, a cry of national self-affirmation and a call for the sides to compete in international tournaments. Pasqual Maragall and Juan José Ibarretxe, the Catalan and Basque Presidents, both gave their support, together with a crowd of around 60,000 spectators. The heated reaction from certain sectors of the media and Spanish parties shows that the Catalan and Basque way is the correct one. Catalonia and the Basque country, stateless nations in Europe, simply want Spain to act like Great Britain, where Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have an official national status separate from England. Now that Zapatero is following in Aznar's footsteps in his admiration of Tony Blair, it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to copy the British model. Pity that the political offensive of the PP and Ciutadans de Catalunya, with the aid of the courts, has placed all possible obstacles not only in the way of the game against the Basques, but also the TV advertisement in favour of the Catalan team. Useless judicial censorship.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The Tinell agreement between PSC, ERC and ICV-EUiA, which enabled Pasqual Maragall to become President of the Generalitat, has gone to a better life. But that's not all. Only one of the signatory parties – ICV-EUiA – is calling for another pro-Catalan independence, left-wing government. Both PSC and ERC want to distance themselves, 30 days from elections, from the coalition that generated so many headaches and instability, in comparison with the 23 years of Jordi Pujol's CiU governments. The Socialists want to distance themselves from their old pro-independence partners, while the latter are once more adopting a posture of equidistance. ERC is beginning to woo CiU, which is the favourite in all the election polls. There is a possibility of a nationalist coalition between CiU and ERC, but it would help the PP to bump up the pro-Spain vote. The idea of a large-scale CiU-PSC coalition is not attractive, so far, to the heads of either party, as their voters are eternal rivals. One month away from the elections and everything is up in the air. CiU have the advantage, but it’s one thing to win, and another to take power.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
The Estatut that came into force in August has not solved the "Catalan question". Neither has its solved Catalonia's accumulated deficit, and especially with its infrastructures. The proof of this is the political unhappiness over the announcement by Pedro Solbes, the finance minister, that €3,195 million would be spent on infrastructure next year. CiU, ERC and even ICV are not happy with this. First because budget negotiations with Spain were carried out with one eye on the election, as the Catalan Socialists have tried to make the most out of it. Secondly, because Catalan businessman had expected the budget resulting from the new Estatut to be upwards of €500 million . The announcement has been accompanied by unclear figures, and is marked by party and election interests. It coincided with a series of breakdowns on the railway system –on top of the AVE works– that showed the lack of money being spent on Renfe in Catalonia. Meanwhile, the debate over transferring management of El Prat airport to the Generalitat continues, while Catalans become outraged over the fragile railway system. And all this has taken place before Mobility Week.
Bitllet d'opinió publicat avui al setmanari en anglès Catalonia Today.
El setmanari Catalonia Today, el primer periòdic català escrit en anglès, de venda a la majoria de quioscos del país, estrena avui nou disseny i incorpora nous continguts: un quadernet d'oci, un de negocis i un altre d'informació de proximitat. Catalonia Today oferirà un cop al mes quadernets dedicats al Maresme, Garraf-Penedès, Costa Daurada i Girona-Costa Brava.
Aquest mitjà, que edita el periodista i amic Carles Puigdemont, m'ha convidat a publicar setmanalment una plana d'opinió força entretinguda, un bitllet inclòs. La versió original en català és aquesta.
