"We are at a grave moment and Catalonia must be defended." With these words, the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, began an appearance in Palau de la Generalitat this Tuesday, in which he called for the construction of a front by the pro-independence parties - as well as the sovereignist, left-wing Comuns, as he detailed at one point - in the face of the arrival of a right-wing and far-right government in the Spanish state, which he considered inevitable. It would be, as he said, a "front for the defence of democracy and freedoms" to respond to the attack that a PP and Vox executive in Madrid would represent against the basic pillars of Catalonia. Aragonès did not specify how this demand should be made tangible and the only thing he made clear is that he has no intention of calling Catalan elections - in response to the snap general election to be held on July 23rd in Spain - the reason being, as he argued, that the situation requires strong institutions.
The president stressed that the will for mutual understanding that he advocates is essential in Catalonia to defend the school system and the language, public health, Catalan institutions, civil rights, the equality of all people, well-being and the right to freely choose the future as a people.
Government and Parliament
He argued that the Catalan government is seeking to give a response, and that this requires the parties to reach an understanding among one another and start a new political cycle. The president pointed out the need to guarantee a stronger government and Parliament, to defend Catalonia with all its capabilities, "with solid, firm and new mechanisms of governance and stability", of which the only thing he specified was the will to work for a pro-independence speaker in Parliament. He also talked about seeking agreements in the new town councils that emerge from last weekend's elections. And, thirdly, the need to promote a democratic front to defend Catalonia and rights and freedoms. "We have a lot at stake," he underlined.