Two calls on Sunday and Monday two weeks ago from the leadership of Junts to that of the ERC paved the way for the threat of a consultation with the militancy of the party chaired by Laura Borràs to settle whether they leave the Government. This Tuesday Pere Aragonès faces a less tense general policy debate than could be expected a few days ago, when the voices in JxCat to leave the Palau de la Generalitat were growing. Laura Borràs and Jordi Turull themselves have qualified the ultimatum to the point that in Esquerra they publicly celebrate that it “doesn’t exist anymore”. The president now has a better climate for interest to be captured by social policies, such as the 300 million euros that he will allocate to reduce the impact of inflation on families, companies, the most vulnerable households, the primary sector or young people . In addition, he will announce a battery of initiatives to combat climate change and rising energy prices.
But he will also make a “broad proposal” to move towards self-determination that will appeal to sovereignty -in the broadest sense of the word- and Catalanism. The proposal has already been shared with Junts. A gesture of deference towards the partner of the Government that has also contributed to the waters not overflowing, although it remains to be seen if the post-convergent support the idea of ??going beyond independence to try to achieve “the Catalan republic”.
What is clear is that this general policy debate will mark in one way or another the course of the legislature, and more specifically the most immediate future of the Government. The level of conflict between ERC and Junts has been so great that today the PSC is being displaced from the focus of attention in these sessions despite being the leader of the opposition.
With everything and despite the approaches to calm things down, Junts’ break with the Government continues as a backdrop. ERC cannot avoid looking askance at the party of Borràs and Turull, because beyond tomorrow’s interventions in Parliament, the week is open to parliamentary groups presenting proposals for resolutions on the national axis with which they publicly boil again disagreements between partners. And very probably also between them and the CUP. “Surely in one of them [of the proposed resolutions] they raise the confrontation”, they reason from Republican ranks before some votes that will materialize on Friday.
This bit of distrust was also expressed this Monday by Marta Vilalta, deputy general secretary of the ERC, when she claimed to Junts that the general policy debate has to serve to “strengthen the Government”, and not to “destabilize it”.
In any case, that the tone has been lowered is evident. The Vice President of the Government, Jordi Puigneró, has reflected this when he has assured that Junts and ERC have worked so that the general policy debate “goes well”. The work is discreet and according to the leader of JxCat, they will continue to maintain it “in the meetings, meetings and exchanges of papers to make possible a Government that takes the country forward, that works and that also advances towards independence.” The terms used here by Puigneró are similar to those of Aragonès.
That the president thinks in the long term is demonstrated by his insistence on approving new budgets for 2023. Of those 300 million in social measures, a part, according to the Presidency, depends on having the accounts renewed. However, the plan is not closed and from the Government they point out that new measures will be added according to the increase in inflation.
