Together for Catalonia (Junts) is already clearly in opposition. Not only because of the party's departure from the Catalan coalition government, but also because of the positions it is now taking. In fact, this goes as far as not even clarifying where it will stand on the Catalan budget that Jaume Giró, former minister of the Junts bloc in cabinet, had already completed. Today the party's parliamentary leader, Albert Batet, once again called on president Pere Aragonès to submit to a question of confidence "out of democratic radicalism" and to clarify whether he has a majority before talking about the 2023 accounts. "You can't start the house with the roof", he affirmed on several occasions. Junts figures are not biting their tongues when it comes to criticizing the new Catalan executive, which took office today: "It is the weakest government in the history of Catalonia and it shows that its commitment is not to independence".
This Tuesday, the new Catalan Republican Left (ERC) government began to walk, with Pere Aragonès's new ministers being sworn in and holding a first cabinet meeting in the Palau de la Generalitat - without the presence of Junts, situated in the opposition. In a press conference at Parliament, Albert Batet promised a "constructive and proactive opposition", but at the same time warned that they would "make their votes and their strength count, with exigency and responsibility". And once again, the lack of legitimacy of the new government was criticized: "A government with 33 deputies, a government without the endorsement of the ballot boxes and without the confidence of the Parliament of Catalonia". Batet also reproached the composition of the new executive "which demonstrates what the real ERC project is", which according to them is not independence. That is why they call for a confidence question or elections. At the moment, they are not considering the scenario of a motion of censure, which could lead directly to a change of government if it were lost.
That is why they consider the confidence issue to be a priority, a condition sine qua non, before addressing other issues. "Before we talk about the budget, we need to talk about the issue of confidence", said the president of the Junts parliamentary group. "The president has changed the orientation and the composition of the cabinet, it cannot act as if nothing has happened", criticized Batet. Junts also refutes the argument that the draft budget was drawn up by minister Jaume Giró: "The budget drawn up so far corresponds to the fulfillment of the agreement of a coalition government that no longer exists today. It is not the budget that Juntes would present if it governed alone".
Meanwhile, Junts per Catalunya will conduct its opposition as it sees fit. As explained by Batet, the party will initiate a round of contacts with parliamentary groups, social and economic agents and civil society entities "to continue to respond from Parliament to the needs and concerns of the people". They promise that they will be "more active than ever" before the "weakest government in the history of Catalonia". In fact, this week, the general secretary of the party, Jordi Turull, will meet with Antoni Cañete, president of the Pimec, the Catalan business association representing small and medium enterprises.
The budget, first obstacle of many
The budgets, which will now be piloted by new economy minister Natàlia Mas, will be the first litmus test of the new government. For now, the accounts do not have the numbers they need. Mathematically, the budget approval will necessarily require the support of either Junts or the Catalan Socialists (PSC), the two major groups in the chamber apart from ERC. The former partners of the Republicans have for the moment placed themselves in frontal opposition to the new solitary executive. And the Socialists are holding out their hand to help with "specific accords," like the budget, but the Republicans reject that outstretched hand, arguing that the Socialists are not committed to ending the state's repression in Catalonia. That is why scenarios are already being considered that seemed improbable just a few days ago, such as the extension of the previous year's budget. But there will be other challenges too, such as the dialogue table between the Spanish and Catalan governments. For the moment, an obstacle course can be seen stretching out ahead. It was in this context, that the new Catalan government ministers took office, this Tuesday at nine in the morning, and then went to work, with the first cabinet meeting at ten.