In two days the election campaign officially begins where we Catalans will elect the Government of the reset, of the forced restart. This has been noted by both Salvador Illa and his “turning the page” on the process, as well as Carles Puigdemont and his proposal to leave the war between independence supporters behind, to (re)unite and build together something worthwhile again, starting with a good government. Hence the choice that appears to be the key to 12-M: Illa or Puigdemont.
And the fact is that, faced with a stagnant panorama and with no prospect of apparent improvement, the need to put an end to the current disenchantment that is felt when contemplating the Catalan institutional panorama has materialized politically (and the elections seem to also reflect this socially). The majority of surveys (already now, before they begin to circulate) detect this drive to move on to a new stage that gives hope in the form of a reboot.
Neither one nor the other will be easy. But these elections must decide where to go. And the country as a whole must assume it, leaving room for maneuver for whoever legitimately manages to lead from the presidency of the Generalitat one of the two great alternatives that are projected with greater force as a necessary response to the current state of affairs. Either the return to an idea of ??autonomy in total harmony with the Madrid government (hopefully, if it is from the PSOE) or trying it again through independence (if we believe them, doing better and having learned from mistakes). Both options involve risks, but the alternative is to continue like this last legislature, and no one wants that, set aside.
Of course, those who bet on Illa’s “turning the page” will not be doing so for a return to the Maragallian path of Spain, nation of nations. The current PSC is far from that other one and is more aligned than ever with the PSOE. In fact, his commitment to refoundation, to reset, smacks of the model of autonomy that the socialists had in mind in 1980 and that Jordi Pujol’s unexpected victory against Joan Reventós short-circuited. A calm Catalonia, calm sea, especially in terms of national demand. Does anyone believe that Illa would bother or contradict Pedro Sánchez in any way?
For its part, forcing a restart of the process towards independence, if promoted now, would be done, no matter how much political power Puigdemont has, starting from a fratricidal spirit among independentists with few precedents, and with self-government institutions perceived by too many. citizens as irrelevant.
Hence the need for a clear result from the polls. In one direction or another. Although, if she wins by far, Illa will have a better job. The independence alliance, on the contrary, will need even clearer numbers. Because, just as the PSOE did not move with the amnesty until the polls forced it to do so, ERC will not bet on a pro-independence government if parliamentary arithmetic does not force it to do so.
