Former Catalan vice-president and president of pro-independence party ERC, Oriol Junqueras, believes that calling a Catalan election cannot be scorned as an option to respond to the upcoming verdict in the trial over the 2017 independence push. Waiting for that sentence, and for "justice" from the EU court which has to decide whether he can take his seat as an MEP, Junqueras has said he had "full confidence in whatever decision the Catalan government should take" once the verdict is out.
Although he maintains their innocence, in an interview with El matí de Catalunya Ràdio conducted by letter from Lledoners prison, Junqueras said he's aware they could be found guilty. He said the decision over how to then react "has to be taken by the people of Catalonia" and that "calling an election is an option which should never be dismissed".
Strategy
Junqueras distanced himself from the "confrontation" with Spain former president Carles Puigdemont was calling for. He said the conflict can be resolved "only through dialogue and democracy" and that "only through dialogue do we arrive at consensuses with all our citizens because we have the obligation to address all of them, independence supporters like ourselves and those who still are in doubt".
He was also critical of JxCat when it comes to its agreement with PSC in the Barcelona Deputation and its general policy towards post-election agreements. Junqueras said that "certainly, I still haven't understood that with there being a pro-independence majority they should gift the presidency [of the Deputation] to PSC. I don't know if it'll happen again, nor if some day they'll explain why to us".
Spanish government
On the subject of coalition agreements, Junqueras did not at all count out the option of his party maintaining its abstention in a second attempt to invest Pedro Sánchez as Spanish prime minister. Although he believes "everything in his own actions seems to indicate" Sánchez wants a new general election, Junqueras says "ERC will in no case favour a right-wing government fighting to be ever more right-wing".
He believes he party's abstention in Madrid is supported by its electorate, its history and its promises. He said that "ERC won the election in Catalonia and that makes us responsible for the decision".
Unity
As for the criticism ERC has received from certain sectors of the pro-independence movement, Junqueras asked "why has ERC suddenly seemed to become the objective everyone wants to bring down?". He said that ERC still wishes to be a "project which is attractive to as many people as possible, and wants to be as similar as possible to the country we have".
The former vice-president added that "ERC doesn't need to overact or shout to say it's pro-independence. Everyone knows it and we were going to 11th September [Catalan national day] demonstrations when there were 5000 people".
He said that nonetheless, he respects the decision by former ministers Josep Huguer and Anna Simó to not go to this year's protest in protest at the ANC's attitude. That said, he still called the public to attend in large numbers: "I've always gone to the events and I invite everyone to go because the 11th September has to be inclusive and, in no case, leave out those who don't think like you".