Yesterday, Carles Puigdemont ruled out making an agreement with Salvador Illa. The socialist candidate took a little longer: on Thursday he opened the door, this morning he closed it. Pere Aragonès and ERC have played with ambiguity, both in the pre-campaign and in the campaign, and have always maintained all the scenarios. Today, however, the Republican has been somewhat clearer during a press conference organized by the ACN, and has assured that he is willing to make a pact with all those forces that vote for him as president and also choose to agree on the bases of a referendum, own financing for Catalonia and work to improve the welfare state and the Catalan language.
Although the polls show no options for him to repeat as head of the Government, Aragonès does not foresee another scenario. “I will be president with the votes of whoever agrees to agree on the bases of a referendum on the future of the country, whoever agrees to end the fiscal deficit through unique financing and whoever agrees to reinforce the welfare state and the Catalan language,” he stressed to answer who he would call first after the May 12 elections. The no to Illa’s has not appeared at any time. He has avoided it.
However, the scenario has to be, as he has said, being re-elected as president of the Generalitat. “I am running for election to be the president of the Generalitat and not for ERC to be a crutch for any other political project,” he stated, at the same time wanting to highlight that the three conditions – referendum, financing and improvement of the welfare state and from Catalan – are “a complete pack”. That is, all or nothing.
It hasn’t gone any further. For example, if the pact would be shared governance. But the veto is diluted as the campaign goes on.
In any case, the ERC candidate has regretted that he is flying over the scenario of an electoral repetition. For Aragonès, just having other candidates raise it is “a lack of respect.” In fact, he has described Puigdemont as “irresponsible” for raising, as he has said, that future.
He has had more words for the Junts presidential election. Not nice. Josep Rull, number three on the JxCat list, returned yesterday to demand unity for the independence movement. For Aragonès, something does not add up: he has criticized the former minister and the former president for having previously refused to unify the negotiating tables with the PSOE and the central government, and has even highlighted that Puigdemont “shows little ambition” when he demands to unify the independence vote. A position that serves the Republican to verify “the lack of leadership” in Junts.
He has thrown another dart at Puigdemont. This time on account of the autonomy of the Parliament, since the leader of Junts has shown himself willing to withdraw support in Congress for Pedro Sánchez depending on the movements of the PSC after the Catalan elections. Aragonès, first, has assured that there will be no more agreements with the PSOE and the Government if the commitments made by the socialists with ERC during the investiture are not met. The forgiveness of 15,000 million euros from the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA), or 150 million for research, in addition to the transfer of Rodalies, has yet to materialize. At this point he has separated one area, the state, with the other, the Catalan parliament, and has highlighted that the Catalan Chamber “is sovereign.”
