Even though he knew that this first attempt was bound to fail, Pere Aragonès did not hold back on the energy he poured into his presentation today as, for the first time, he spoke as candidate to be invested as the new president of Catalonia. The Republican Left (ERC) leader went step by step through his left-wing, pro-independence government programme, committed to Catalonia's self-determination. Without losing hope that the part of the negotiation which is still in the air - that with Together for Catalonia (Junts) - will come to fruition in the new few days, he chose today to swallow his frustration, avoid making any criticisms and hold out an open hand again. Of course, clearly emphasizing the left and avoiding the question of unilateralism. One sentence sums up the essence of his message to Junts: "Let's rewrite the script. If we opt for the comfort of maximalism, we will only contribute to the blockage." For now, the talks with the Junts party remain stuck, at least until Tuesday, when the second ballot of the investiture vote will be held.
In this evening's vote, only 42 deputies - those of ERC and the third pro-independence party the CUP (Popular Unity Candidature) - will vote in favour of appointing Aragonès as new president. The candidate gave "deep" thanks to the staunchly left-wing CUP, with special mention for election candidature leader Dolors Sabater for "the empathy and generosity shown in reaching an agreement", while acknowledging that "the step they have taken is not easy".
With the support of CUP assured, he focused on convincing Junts to take "a step forward." At the same time, and just in case, he also reopened the door to the Podemos-alligned Comuns. "Today I extend my hand again to the other parties with whom we share the objectives of confronting with all our might, and without further delay, all of Catalonia's social emergencies, its economic reconstruction and the resolution of the conflict with the Spanish state. Especially to Junts, but also to En Comú Podem, whom I hope to convince today", he stated.
Pere Aragonès speaking in the Catalan Parliament's auditorium space, used for today's debate rather than the parliamentary chamber because its larger size enables Covid safety measures to be maintained.
Junts and mistrust
In line with what he has been doing since election night on February 14th, Aragonès asked Junts - and in passing, the Comuns - to "move out of their comfort zones", avoid "unlistening dialogues which do not contribute anything" and focus on "the common denominators, which are there." And once again, yet another call to "overcome mistrust with those who are on your same journey." Indeed, it is the mistrust which grew during the last legislature which is the great obstacle clouding the talks between the two main pro-independence actors. And although close ERC circles acknowledge to ElNacional.cat that they are not optimistic of persuading Junts to change their minds between now and Tuesday, Aragonès put a positive spin on it. “If there is a will, we are in time, right now, this very day”, he affirmed.
The Republicans' goal is to build "a broad, strong, cohesive, plural government with a strong parliamentary majority." If they finally end up ruling together, ERC and Junts would be in the minority, with 65 deputies. The description given thus implies an invitation to the CUP to enter the executive, a remote option, at least initially, but one which is not ruled later during the legislature. In this regard, Aragonés reaffirmed his commitment, signed in the pre-accord with the CUP, to submit the government to a no-confidence vote in the middle of its term, in 2023.
Catalonia, one single people
The structure of Aragonès's investiture discourse placed the social justice struggle and the national struggle as inseparable. The first section of his speech was dedicated to the left turn he wants to steer. "We are an undeniable majority of left-wing and progressive groups," he said, adding that the Catalan election result has also left "an undeniable majority in favour of an amnesty and self-determination" and "in favour of the Catalan Republic".
Thus, he set three priority objectives for the government he aspires to lead: "To face the emergencies and inequalities aggravated by the pandemic with total determination", "to lay the foundations of a new productive model" and "to direct the resolution of the political conflict with the Spanish state, making amnesty and self-determination inevitable". There would, he said, be “four unavoidable transformations” on the horizon: socioeconomic, feminist, green, and democratic.
In another wink at the Comuns, Aragonès called to "revive the old slogan of 'Catalonia, one single people'", stating that "the concept of Catalan-ness does not exclude anyone". As he did during the election campaign, he committed himself to fighting "the discourses of fear and exclusion that have done so much harm in recent years." A call to make the image of the Catalan independence movement more inclusive and more seductive to those who are not yet committed to it.
The left turn
Among the specific proposals he announced, the rescue plan that will be launched in the first 100 days of the new government stands out, mobilizing 700 million euros to deal with the social emergency, to encourage employment for young people, those over 45 and people in vulnerable situations, but also to rescue families and reduce waiting lists for dependency care programmes.
He highlighted the commitments made with the CUP to promote a universal basic income, ban home evictions of vulnerable families by law, reform the policing model and improve the working conditions of health workers and significantly increase the health budget - mentioning a target of an additional 5 billion euros.
National Agreement on Amnesty and Self-Determination
In an attempt to bring the Comuns into the fold of the new government majority - and raise that majority to the 'sovereignist' figure of 82, the number of MPs in Parliament who support Catalonia's reight to decide its future - Aragonés announced that he will convene a National Agreement on Amnesty and Self-Determination, "which will bring together all those political groups, institutions and entities that are in agreement with a solution: resolving the political conflict with the state through the freedom of prisoners and exiles and a referendum to freely decide our future." And in this section of his speech, he made it clear that "wanting amnesty and self-determination does not implying giving up anything."
Aware that ERC's commitment to resurrect the dialogue table with the state generates rejection in both the CUP and JxCat, Aragonès acknowledged that "it is true that it started badly." A bad start that he attributed to the pandemic and the pre-election climate. However, he admitted that he understands "the skepticism of some" because he is certain that "it will be a very difficult negotiation", the most difficult, he said, that the Catalan government has ever faced. Thus, while acknowledging that he could not "guarantee that this will work out for us", he made a call to "face negotiations with the state by recovering strategic unity". The alternative, he said, "leads to a continuation of the blockage we have had up till now, in a situation of repression and powerlessness."
Aragonès closed his speech by asking the chamber to give him its confidence so that he can be "everyone's president." For now, though, he will have to wait.
Below, Pere Aragonès's first investiture speech in its entirety, in Catalan.
In the main image, Aragonés delivers his investiture speech. / EFE