The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) will consult its membership about the investiture vote for a new Catalan president, the pro-independence party has announced this Friday. In a short statement, the Republicans reported that the party's executive has agreed that the position surrounding the investiture "will be validated through an electronic consultation with the membership". It has also been agreed that the current general secretary, Marta Rovira, will coordinate the upcoming party negotiations, first on the constitution of the new Catalan Parliament and then those that follow, for the investiture. Finally, the ERC executive has agreed "to focus the efforts of the entire party on the European election campaign that begins next week" - after which Oriol Junqueras will leave the presidency of the party, but with the wish to stand for re-election later at the party Congress in November.
In a nutshell, the Republicans have to choose who they want to lead the next Catalan government, whether Salvador Illa of the Catalan Socialists (PSC) or Carles Puigdemont of Together for Catalonia (Junts) - or alternatively, if they want to opt for no-one at all as president. This Friday, the Spanish prime minister and leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, completely ruled out making Puigdemont president and urged him to "face reality" after the Catalan elections. The Junts candidate responded, asserting that a pro-independence government would rest on a "more solid parliamentary alternative".
First, the parliamentary Bureau
What is clear is that things have changed at ERC in recent days. On Sunday, after the election defeat, Pere Aragonès urged the PSC and Junts to govern. But now the Republicans have opened themselves to negotiate an investiture, for a candidate whose identity is still unknown to everyone. Among the many possibilities that have opened up after the elections, the left-wing tripartite option is a clear one: PSC + ERC + Comuns-Sumar. However, Puigdemont maintains the idea of presenting himself at the investiture debate, and to be successful, he would need an affirmative vote from the Republicans and the abstention of the Socialists. Everything is still wide open.
But before the investiture, it will be necessary to negotiate the composition of the parliamentary Bureau, the procedural body of the chamber, headed by the speaker of the house. The decisions on this body, key to the conduct and agenda of the next legislature, will provide clues about who will be the candidate to preside over the Generalitat. Rovira will be in charge of coordinating ERC for these first negotiations, which will then continue with those of the investiture. Opposite her at the negotiation tables will be Lluïsa Moret, Alícia Romero and Ferran Pedret, on behalf of the PSC; and Candela López, Lluís Mijoler and David Cid, on behalf of the Comuns. From Junts, they have not appointed anyone yet, but it is possible that Puigdemont himself and the general secretary, Jordi Turull, will be responsible for leading the talks.