Roger Montañola (Barcelona, ??1986) leads the PDECat-Espai CiU candidacy in the general elections of July 23. He places Catalonia in the post-process and advocates making politics for adults.
What is Espai CiU?
A space that brings together people and different sensitivities under the premise that a common front is necessary for the defense of Catalonia, and we assume that we must open a new era, starting from the basis that the process is over and that they are necessary new recipes from political Catalanism.
What new recipes?
Hit the ground and come back to reality. For too many years Catalonia has wandered in a mix of epic, certain frustration, disillusionment and, above all, lives far away from pragmatism. Citizens must be spoken to as adults and explain things as they are, not as we would like them to be. This deeply emotional stage needs to be changed.
Is it your main claim?
Our big idea is to return to politics, sit down with everyone and negotiate for the interests of Catalonia.
Are they willing to negotiate with both the PP and the PSOE?
With whoever is necessary for the interests of Catalonia. If the winner of the elections is the PP, it would be a mistake for the Catalan obedience parties to pretend that they are very angry and stop playing politics. It seems totally irresponsible to me.
Can they negotiate with the PP even if they agree with Vox?
We will not negotiate anything with Vox. It’s obvious. And the conditions for negotiating with the PP is to remove from the equation those who remained anchored in an era in which I was not born. Having said that, it is a colossal mistake to give up politics. We show up to do politics. If we want to put on a show, we don’t need to go to Congress, we buy a megaphone and start shouting.
They don’t have much affinity with Sumar.
Our social and economic model is far from the idea of ??Sumar and also that of the PSOE. Their idea is too interventionist, they want the role of the State to reach people’s kitchens. But, in the same way that I say that the PP is a political actor, so are the PSOE and Sumar.
Define your model.
We are against the constant increase in tax pressure, against taxes such as inheritance, donations, heritage… We are in favor of lowering personal income tax and I believe that, to be competitive, a country must have a tax scenario to allow it. It is also necessary for the administration to applaud those who play it, those who undertake. This was in the DNA of Catalonia and it has been lost. It must be recovered.
He says that, if PP or PSOE want to negotiate the investiture with you, they must respect Catalonia and go through the box.
Respecting Catalonia means that any state political party does not use anti-Catalanism as a flag to seek votes in other territories.
And go through checkout?
It would be great to quantify what needs to be paid. But, returning to adult politics…, it cannot be quantified. The only formula to solve the fiscal and investment deficit is to collar the president in turn if he needs us, to be able to sweep towards Catalonia.
What sets him apart from Míriam Nogueras or Gabriel Rufián?
I live in 2023 and not anchored in 2015. In addition, I believe that politics is a very serious and adult thing, not a theater to go and do the show. In the political space that I represent, we have sometimes been tried to mix with Junts, but I would not vote for Junts if this space was not presented on July 23.
Have they spoken to former president Artur Mas after he said he did not share the decision to run on 23-J?
No.
What do you think of him?
I have personal respect and esteem for him as a former president. I was a representative of CiU, but in this case I disagree with your opinion. In addition, I am part of a new generation that is coming to do things their way and we will not let anyone from any other generation not patronize us. I’m talking about a change of times and I mean it. Those who have tutored for many years will be welcome, but will not tutor. Now it’s our turn.
Mas asked that there be no more division in the post-convergent space. Xavier Trias talks about recomposing a space. His speech is not very different from what some Junts leaders do.
Probably. We welcome Jaume Giró, Victòria Alsina and many other Junts leaders and activists to the new space. Junts’ main problem is that it lives anchored in the process and in a political radicalism led by former president Carles Puigdemont. We cannot spend more time or more years waiting for this to be resolved. I think that the theses I defend are closer to Jaume Giró than those defended by Míriam Nogueras and other Junts leaders. It is their decision to know who they go with and who they vote for. The doors are open here.
In Barcelona, ??the two spaces have gone together. Can they be understood again in the future?
When the elections are over and these Junts leaders say in public what they say in private, that the sovereignty process is over and that it is time to open a new era, something that many privately acknowledge, we are open to understanding each other. But we will not allow ourselves to be patronized by those who, in one way or another, are responsible for the fact that Catalonia today is as decadent as we understand it to be.
What will happen to Espai CiU if it does not obtain representation in the Congress of Deputies?
It will continue to grow, because we are a new project and the desire of many people to make it grow is enormous. It is the beginning of a great story.
