The scorn that both the Spanish media and prime minister Pedro Sánchez himself have poured in recent days on the Republican Digital Identity has done nothing but encourage the Council for the Republic, the Catalan exile body that created the new ID card, to continue working to increase membership.
This Friday the Council released a video confirming that in recent days 3,000 people have signed up for their Catalan ID, bringing the total number registered to more than 15,000. As well, 3,000 new people have joined the Council itself, raising its total membership to 95,000.
"More than 15,000 cards in a week. 3,000 new registrations in the last month. Why do they discredit it?" asks the video, in which Sánchez appears, labeling the measure as "purely symbolic" and Spanish media headlines critical of the card are also shown. "Well, because a few months ago this is what they said," responds the video, presenting statements by Sánchez himself and his first deputy PM, Carmen Calvo, proposing legal measures to stop the 'digital republic' proposal promoted by the Catalan government.
"I already have it," mentions the Catalan president in exile, Carles Puigdemont, showing his card. Other well-known figures such as singer Lluís Llach, Demòcrats leader Toni Castellà, MEP Toni Comín, JxCat MP Aurora Madaula, Poble Lliure leader Guillem Fuster, and former Catalan minister Lluís Puig also appear.
On its website, the Council for the Republic also joked about the issue, recalling certain mythical statements by Mariano Rajoy: "Well, yes, it turns out that Catalans do things, many things, even those that may seem insignificant. At the Council for the Republic we are clear that together we build our identity, that of our country, yours, that of everyone, inclusive and for everyone". "That's why we put the Republican Digital Identity at your disposal so that you can participate directly in the process of achieving independence. Now, in addition, ask for your QR code and start discovering the possibilities it offers and that allow us to go on disconnecting from the state,” they add.
Mutual criticisms between Sánchez and Puigdemont
"It can't be used for any bureaucratic procedure, but it costs 9 euros," rebuked Sánchez, accusing JxCat of pursuing a "purely symbolic" policy without any "real use" in a debate in the Congress of Deputies. "Not like the Spanish monarchy, which everyone knows is useful and, above all, does not cost a single euro," replied Puigdemont forcefully in a tweet.
Carles Puigdemont / Twitter