Roger Montañola (Barcelona, ??1986) heads the PDECat-Espai CiU candidacy in the general elections. He places Catalonia in the post-process and advocates doing politics for adults, explaining things as they are. His candidacy will have 100% of the rights of Junts per Catalunya, but this time he does not have the endorsement of former president Artur Mas.
What is Espai CiU?
A political space that brings together people with different sensibilities under the premise that a common front is necessary for the defense of Catalonia, and that they understand that we are in a post-trial stage. We all assume that we must open a new era, based on the fact that the procés is over and new recipes and new ways of dealing with politics from Catalanism are necessary.
What new recipes?
Put your feet on the ground and come back to reality. For too many years, Catalonia has wandered in a mix of epic, certain frustration, disappointment and, above all, lives far removed from pragmatism. And life, and politics too, demand realistic and pragmatic things. Starting from the base that citizens have to be spoken to as adults and explain from politics things as they are and not how we would like them to be. We must change from this deeply emotional stage, with great proclamations that have been shown not to work and have failed, and consequently a new time must be opened in which people are told that the defense of the interests de Catalunya happens to do politics and not to do shows.
What is putting on a show?
Putting on a show is thinking that your political function is to seek likes on Twitter and ignore your job as a political representative, which is to negotiate, transact and speak with those who are different to try to contribute to the benefit of Catalonia. Applause and things have been sought, such as moving the Spanish flag by Mrs. Nogueras. It had a great media effect, but that’s the life of the Catalans, exactly, how does it improve it? That is why our great idea is to go back to doing politics literally, sitting down with the whole world and negotiating for Catalonia, for the interests of Catalonia.
So his main claim is to return to pragmatism.
Absolutely. Back to reality, assume that we are in the year 2023, that we do not have to look at where the whole world was in recent years, that is, this country has to overcome that time. We have not. There are people who in recent years on the electoral list and in the political arena have defended different things, but if something makes us meet, it is the assumption that this time has ended and that a new time is necessary in which it is assumed that the process is over.
He talks about transacting and negotiating. I understand that they are willing to negotiate investiture with both the PP and the PSOE.
With whoever is necessary for the interests of Catalonia. It would be a mistake to think that if the winner of the elections is the PP, the response of the Catalan obedience parties must be to show that we are very angry and stop doing politics. That for the interests of Catalonia and the Catalans seems to me totally irresponsible.
Can they negotiate with the PP even if they agree with Vox?
With Vox we will not negotiate anything. That goes without saying. And the conditions to negotiate with the PP is to remove from the equation those who were stuck in a time when I was not born. That said, it is a colossal mistake to give up on politics. We are running for Congress to do politics. If we want to put on a show, we don’t have to go to Congress, we buy a megaphone and start shouting.
They do not have much affinity with Sumar economically either.
Our social and economic model is far from the idea of ??Sumar and that of the PSOE. It is an idea, from our point of view too interventionist, which aims for the role of the State to reach people’s kitchens. We are not in favor of that. However, in the same way that I say that the PP is a political actor, so is the PSOE and so is Sumar, despite the enormous programmatic differences with which we could hardly understand each other on many issues.
Define your economic and social model.
We are against the constant increase in tax pressure. We are against inheritance tax, donation tax, patrimony… We are in favor of lowering personal income tax and I believe that in order to be competitive, a country must have a fiscal scenario that allows it to be so. And a second thing, I think that this country has been angry with itself for many years. New illusion and new desire are needed and that the administration applauds those who risk it, those who undertake, those who want to do things. That was in the DNA of Catalonia and now it has been lost. It has to recover. We want a country where people who have an idea can carry it out without encountering 38 economic and administrative obstacles. That is important.
He says that if the PP or PSOE want to negotiate the investiture with you, they have to respect Catalonia and go through the cash register. Concrete.
Respecting Catalonia is that any state political party does not make anti-Catalanism a banner to seek votes in other territories. Therefore, this criticism of who we are, of the history of Catalonia or of our language will be an unacceptable point for us when it comes to negotiating, because it criticized the infantilism that I think has been made by the pro-independence parties -not pro-independence , for me they are procesistas, not independentsitas, because they have not done anything for independence, the results are in sight…–, but it is also true, the irresponsibility and willingness to set fire to public debate and emotions by part of the other side. For this reason, we will directly oppose any party that seeks votes by burning Catalonia, its language and its culture.
And go through the box?
It would be very good to quantify what you have to pay. But going back to adult politics… it cannot be quantified. What is evident is that Catalonia suffers from a structural financing deficit, if you see what the autonomous community contributes and what it receives, there is a brutal imbalance. But the only formula to solve this, although there are magical solutions and formulas and beautiful headlines, is to put pressure on the president of the day if he needs us, to be able to sweep for Catalonia. That is what we are going to do.
What makes you different from Míriam Nogueras or Gabriel Rufián? Some talk about raising the price of their votes. Others say that nothing will ever be the same if governance depends on them.
The first thing that separates us is that I live in the year 2023 and not anchored in the year 2015. The second thing is that I believe that politics is something very serious and adult and not a theater to go to do the show. I think they are two sufficiently significant elements that differentiate the point at which we are. I already said a few days ago that I look like an egg to a chestnut to Míriam Nogueras. The political space that I represent has been tried to mix with Junts, but if this political space did not stand for election, I would not vote for JxCat.
The former president Artur Mas indicated that he did not share his decision to stand in the general elections. Have you talked to him?
No.
He says the relationship has changed. In what?
It has changed in the fact that I understand that politics is a vocation, not a profession, first of all. And I do a parenthesis. I work in the private sector and I do this because I really believe in it, I don’t have the need or the will to look for a job. Second question: as we believe that there is a huge number of Catalans who feel orphaned by political space, it is a moral obligation for our political space, and this includes Espai CiU as a whole and the PDECat in particular, to defend and give citizens the option to vote on a political proposal like ours.
What do you think of the former president Artur Mas?
I have personal respect and appreciation for him as a former president. I was a CiU deputy, but in this case I disagree with his opinion. In addition, I am part of a new generation that comes to do things in its own way and we will not let anyone from another generation protect us. I think that the time of each one everyone knows what it is. Now it is ours. I have spoken of a change of era and I really mean it. Those who have tutored for many years will be welcome, but they will not tutor. Now it’s up to us.
Mas called for no further division of the post-convergent space. Xavier Trias talks about rebuilding a space. Pere Regull closes his list and campaigned with JxCat in the municipal elections. In sectoral and economic policy they are not so far behind. His speech is not very different from what some Junts leaders do.
Surely. We welcome Mr. Jaume Giró and Mrs. Victòria Alsina and many other Junts leaders and militants to this new political space that was created to represent a new political generation and is led by a new generation that starts from the assumption that the process is over. The main problem with Junts is that it lives anchored in the process, anchored in a political radicalism led by former president Carles Puigdemont. We cannot spend more time or more years waiting for this to be resolved. It is up to us, this new generation, to make this new political proposal. Junts voters and leaders are more than welcome. What’s more, we believe that the theses I defend are closer to Jaume Giró than those defended by Míriam Nogueras or many Junts leaders. But it is their decision to know who they go with and who they vote for. Here they have open doors.
In Barcelona both spaces have gone hand in hand and from what he says it seems that there may be an entente in some way in the future.
When these elections pass and these Junts leaders say in public what they say in private, that the sovereignist process is over and that it is time to open a new era, something that many recognize in private, obviously we are open to understanding each other. What we will never be is sectarian. But we will not allow ourselves to be protected by those who in one way or another are responsible for making the Catalonia of today as decadent as we understand it to be.
You are not a pro-independence party but you defend that there should be a referendum. Is there a viable solution to the Catalan conflict?
Look, Ortega y Gasset was already talking more than 100 years ago about that of entailment. At the present time, speaking to people as adults, I find it very difficult to find a magical solution to anything. There are no majorities in Parliament for a serious modification of the Statute. There are no majorities in Congress for a profound constitutional amendment. Therefore, the panorama that we have right now is that of a compromise and making the votes and influence of the parties of Catalan obedience, in this case of our political space, necessary for them to make decisions. It is clear that central governments make decisions based on the needs they have to get ahead. If they depend on us, we will put a lot of pressure on them. To promise something beyond that is to lie to the citizens and I will not participate in those ways of doing things.
The PDECat was left out of Parliament in 2021. What will happen to Espai CiU if it does not obtain representation?
Espai CiU will continue to grow because we are precisely a new project and if you see my mobile phone and that of all of us who participate, you will see that the desire of many people to make this project grow is enormous. This is the beginning of a great story. Regarding what PDECat does or does not do, out of respect for its own dynamics and its own leaders, I cannot give you an answer because I am not a PDECat militant.
Do you think that this space obtained a good result in the municipal ones beyond Barcelona?
It depends on the sites. But I return to the same thing, in Catalonia it has become very difficult to be seen in the political debate if one does not shout and make noise. And we are not going to shout or make noise or shows. But we will not give up this good way of doing politics. Therefore, the result of those elections responds to the result of those elections. The general election scenario responds to a completely different context. Therefore, we believe that it can be very favorable for us. There are many citizens who feel orphaned by political representation and we welcome them and they can be sure that with Espai CiU they have a place where they will feel represented and their interests will be defended. Also, we won’t embarrass them.
Talk about orphans. That word has been associated recurrently with the moderate center space in Catalonia for years. There have been several failed projects, you were in some like Lliures and Centrem. Does space really exist or has it mutated?
The space exists. Another thing is if it has been known how to capitalize or it has been known how to make it succeed. But I assure you that many of us who like politics are aware of all this. Another thing is that a political space, apart from what it can defend ideologically, has to propose innovation, illusion and a new time; And that’s what we’re doing. I think that due to a matter of age, this new generation and that of opening a new time can be embodied with the entire team that is at the Espai CiU. Our campaign team is full of young people. And if you see the desire and enthusiasm they put into it, I assure you that I would really want to continue making this project great.
