To say that the sentence - four and a half years in prison and a 13 year ban from office - for Laura Borràs for splitting contracts when she was director of the Institute of Catalan Letters (ILC), is disproportionate and manifestly excessive, as punishment for the two crimes that the Catalan High Court (TSJC) considers proven, abuse of authority and falsification of documents, is clearly irrefutable. The civil and criminal chamber of the High Court of Catalonia, presided over by Jesús María Barrientos and the judge Fernando Lacaba and María Jesús Manzano, has issued a sentence in my opinion that is unjust, complex, perverse, technically very debatable and politically poisonous for the Spanish government but also intelligent. It can be said that it is a sentence that moves part of the debate from justice to politics by introducing a request to the Spanish government, currently led by Pedro Sánchez, to pardon Borràs and reduce the prison sentence to two years to prevent her entry in prison
In other words, the court that sentenced her has, motu proprio, taken as its starting point that the sentence of four and a half years in prison is disproportionate. Thus there is no debate here. By moving the request for a pardon from the TSJC to the Spanish government, if this judgement ends up being final after the corresponding appeals and after the last pronouncement of the Supreme Court, Barrientos seeks two radically different things: the first, to avoid the accusations of lawfare that will rain on him pointing out that he is the first to assert that she should not go to prison. But second and more important, to pass the hot potato to the Spanish government, which will no longer be the current one, given the short time left in the current legislature. Either it will be a new one led by Pedro Sánchez or another presided over by Alberto Núñez Feijóo with Vox embedded in the executive or, at the very least, as a parliamentary partner of the PP.
Barrientos thus performs an interesting sidestep and, as it will be seen more clearly in the coming days, turns the spotlight that today is on the TSJC towards the Supreme Court and, if that tribunal does not touch the main features of the sentence, onto the PSOE and the PP. We will need to get ready to hear major statements on the issue from the Spanish government and the opposition in the coming days, and especially so when we approach the general election. And what their positions will be, can already, in part, be predicted: it is a case of corruption and a pardon is unlikely in the future. In the case of Feijóo, taking it as read, and with much less nuance. In that of Sánchez, he will not open up the subject in public when he does not even know if he will have options to continue in the Moncloa palace after the next general elections.
Because one of the things that is certain is that, even moving quickly, it is difficult for the question of the pardon to be placed on the table of the Spanish cabinet in less than a year, since the Supreme Court moves at its rhythm and that is not exactly fast. But having clarified the judicial issue, let's go to the political one. It is clear that with the verdict of the TSJC issued, it will not be many hours until Spain's Central Electoral Commission (JEC) intervenes, withdraws the seat as an MP of Borràs and opens the period of her replacement in the position as speaker of the chamber. Although Junts is hiding its cards waiting for the JEC to act, no one doubts that the party will not give up their position and will try to negotiate with ERC and the CUP that a Junts parliamentarian should continue at the head of Catalonia's second ranked public institution. Indisputably, the name will be the mayor of Vic, Anna Erra.
In a normal situation, moving from the talks that have already taken place to negotiations should not be an insurmountable problem. But it is clear that the departure of Junts from the Catalan government maintains an uncertainty about ERC's movements, which could create headaches. If so, En Comú Podem will not play the game with Junts and the CUP might not either. The PSC would then come into play, knowing that it will not take over the speaker's position but it could have an important decision-making capacity. With regard to the issue of Junts party presidency and the continuity or not of Borràs, the pro-independence grouping has to choose between two options, both theoretically bad: waiting for the municipal elections to pass, which means hearing the mantra for the next few weeks, and until May 28th, that at the head of the party there is a president convicted of corruption. Or else, force her to resign before the municipal elections. The path taken will be the first, and the subject will remain parked, at least, until June.