Catalonia government loses majority in parliament on criticism of rapprochement with Madrid

Three days away from the 5th anniversary of Catalonia’s unilateral independence, the autonomous region of Spain is once again the target of political crises. This Friday (7), the local government lost its majority in parliament after its main ally left the coalition for not agreeing with the current relatively friendly tone between Barcelona and Madrid.

Today, Catalonia is governed by President Pere Aragonès, affiliated with the pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) – legend with the largest number of parliamentarians along with the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), opposed to separation from Spain. Until then, the governing majority in the legislature was supported by the support of Junts, a party founded by Carles Puigdemont, one of the leaders of Catalan independence.

In recent weeks, however, Junts had been complaining about the pace of conversations Aragones was having with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez about the region’s independence. The ERC is in favor of negotiating with Madrid to reach a referendum and increase Catalan support for leaving Spain; Puigdemont’s party, on the other hand, advocates more aggressive rhetoric, which could trigger separatist conflicts like those of 2017.

At the time, by the way, Catalonia was ruled by Puigdemont, who mobilized thousands of residents to take to the streets to protest against Madrid and organized a plebiscite on the subject. The consultation ended with 90.09% of votes in favor of separating the territory from the rest of Spain, in a day marked by police violence.

In practice, however, the result did not hold. The vote had been banned by the courts and, therefore, parties and defenders of Catalonia’s maintenance in Spain boycotted the election. Thus, the victory of the pro-independence movement was not recognized by the Spanish government, and, two years later, separatist leaders were convicted of sedition by the Spanish justice – including Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels.

The current disagreement over the course of talks with Madrid reached maximum tensions last week, when Junts leaders threatened to ask for a vote of confidence against Aragonés on the grounds that the Catalan president was not very committed to the region’s independence. Aragonés, however, was irritated by the tone of the allies and removed his vice president, who was affiliated with Puigdemont’s party.

The move, of course, further displeased Junts, who called a vote to decide the coalition’s future. The result came out this Friday, with 55.7% of party members approving the government’s departure. About 20% of affiliates did not participate in the consultation.

“The government of Pere Aragonès is a failed government,” Junts president Laura Borràs said after the vote. “This is a government that has lost its democratic legitimacy and that prioritized pacts with the Socialist Party [legenda de Sánchez] instead of prioritizing the agreements that allowed its own investiture”, he added.

So far, at least, the break has not brought the Aragonès government to an end. Days earlier, his party had already ruled out the possibility of calling new elections in the event of a break with Junts and, this Friday, the president said it would be irresponsible to leave Catalonia without a government.

Even so, the ERC’s ability to govern the region alone is uncertain, as it has only 33 seats out of 135 in Parliament. Experts point out that Aragonès will need to ally himself even more with the socialists, Madrid’s allies.

The Spanish prime minister lamented the breakup of the coalition. “In these difficult and complex times, the stability of governments is essential,” Sánchez told reporters in Prague, where he is attending a European Union summit.

But stability, for now, does not seem feasible in the breakaway region.