The unprecedented statements of Gabriel Rufián against Catalan president in exile Carles Puigdemont, whom he called "idiotic" for proclaiming Catalonia's independence in 2017, are extremely serious. For many reasons. First of all, because Carles Puigdemont is in exile in Belgium, a country in which he had to establish his residence and from where he defends himself legally against persecution by the Spanish judiciary, which never ceases to present European Arrest Warrants for his arrest and extradition. Secondly, because although the insult was addressed to president Puigdemont without a shadow of a doubt, Rufián, in his desire to make an impact, also opened fire at all pro-independence actors. Obviously against Junts but also against ERC and the CUP. It was not just on a whim that the three parties proclaimed the independence of Catalonia in Parliament. Because, ultimately, it was the Catalan chamber, as a faithful reflection of popular sovereignty, that made the declaration of independence.
A declaration of independence that was accepted and propelled by the two major pro-independence NGOs, Òmnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly, both at that time led by presidents who served prison terms between 2017 and 2021 and were only able to leave jail through pardons, partial and reviewable, that were granted by the Spanish government to all the imprisoned political prisoners, an action whose first anniversary will be marked on June 23rd, the eve of Sant Joan. Many independence supporters were directly slandered by Rufián, as hundreds of thousands of people took part in the popular uprising of October 2017, with as many as two million voting in the independence referendum. For that reason it is hardly surprising that they feel classified in the group of "idiots".
I do not remember a precedent for an attack of this nature in Catalan politics between allies who are joined in a government, between partners who together carried out a project of the magnitude of trying to make Catalonia independent. That is why the offence is more serious and the protection that the ERC deputy may have received in those hours from those who did not directly condemn his words is less understandable. Perhaps it can be likened, albeit from afar, to the case of the Socialist politician Raimon Martínez Fraile, Catalan government delegate in Madrid in 2007, who was immediately sacked by then-president José Montilla after he pointed out, following statements by former president Pasqual Maragall on the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, that his words could not be understood "since he is in a not very suitable situation physically and psychologically", adding that when a person "says these things, it means that he is a little ill." Montilla dismissed him immediately, and that was six months before it was known that Maragall was suffering from Alzheimer's.
Rufián's statements will leave a dent in relations between ERC and Junts, not because they are very unfortunate, as he himself finally said after his words were rejected by president Aragonès. But because they are offensive, and it is concerning that he did not take the opportunity given to him by the interviewer, Ricard Ustrell, to correct himself before the live connection ended. As it is not the first fire that Rufián has started lately, there is not much basis for believing in coincidences. His acidic criticism of Jaume Asens for his frequent trips to Waterloo is part of the same political style. The world of Twitter and the world of politics may be compatible, but they are not identical. The former may include exaggeration and insult. But the latter must be far kept apart from ridicule and reproach. And if you keep pushing your luck, it will eventually run out on you.