The commission of investigation on the Catalonia operation and the political police during the last governments of the PP, constituted on Tuesday, will approve today the list of appearing parties who will be marching through Congress in the coming weeks. Presumably former president Mariano Rajoy will be excluded – the PSOE has not requested his presence. However, it is not ruled out that he could appear later. This has been confirmed by the president of the commission and PDECat deputy, Ferran Bel.
Although the pro-independence parties have demanded that Rajoy give explanations to the commission, for the moment the PSOE is inclined to leave him off the list, so everything indicates that he will not be among the group of those appearing that the group of parliamentarians will approve today. In statements to La 2 and Ràdio 4, Ferran Bel has remarked that Congress “will leave the door open” to extend the list if it is considered so after the testimonies heard. “Regardless of what happens today, I would not rule it out,” he stressed, alluding to a future request to the former Prime Minister to attend the Lower House.
The PDECat is in favor of Rajoy submitting to the commission’s questions. For Bel, it is “quite likely” that the then president of the government was behind the Catalonia operation. The PDECat deputy hopes that this commission of inquiry – the third to be set up in recent years on this subject – “serves to discern” the role of the former popular leader. “I find it hard to believe that Jorge Fernández Díaz did it on his behalf,” he pointed out.
Ferran Bel has charged, precisely, against the former head of the Interior, whom he has described as a “terrible minister” who “did a lot of damage” to Catalonia for being in charge of the political, police, judicial and media network that tried to “destroy” the parties independentistas
The Catalonia operation was one of the “reasons” that led to the dissolution of Convergència, Bel said, in line with what was recently expressed by the former president Artur Mas and the former mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias. However, he has specified that it was not the only reason. In his opinion, the CDC “was not skillful enough” to “react” to the Catalonia operation, but neither to the cases of corruption or the new political course. “We have to do self-criticism,” said the former mayor of Tortosa for Convergència.
Precisely on Xavier Trias and his candidacy to return to the Barcelona City Council, Ferran Bel has stated that the “smartest thing” would be for the PDECat to go to the elections with Junts. At the moment, both formations have not closed any pact, but details of the negotiations are beginning to circulate, such as the name of the former vice president of the Government Joana Ortega as a possible representative of the Democrats on the Trias list. De Ortega, Bel has praised her “political background” and her knowledge of Barcelona and believes that she is a person “approvable” to serve as a councilor.