Aragonès demands prominence for ERC in the investiture with his appearance in the Senate

The Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, claims a greater role for ERC in the investment pact of Pedro Sánchez. The gesture of going to the Senate to defend the amnesty law that is to serve as a bargaining chip for the investiture allows the Republicans to capture the focus at a time when Carles Puigdemont retreats in the face of disagreements with the Moncloa. The PP proposed the General Commission of Autonomous Communities in the Upper House tomorrow, Thursday, as a trap for socialism. But in the Palau they have seen it as an opportunity to take the political initiative again.

The problem will be the loneliness with which Pere Aragonès will face it. Nobody will support you. The lendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, has declined to attend. Like the three regional leaders of the PSOE: neither the president of Navarra, María Chivite, nor Adrián Barbón (Asturias), nor Emiliano García-Page (Castilla-La Mancha) will attend, to avoid the trap of the popular. Fernando Clavijo (Canary Coalition) sends a vice president. Instead, it is expected that presidents like Isabel Díaz Ayuso will charge against the plan to amnesty those involved in the process.

The Generalitat of Catalonia has called the Basque Government to inform them that they are going, without this having produced a change in the decision of the PNV. But they have renounced a round of contacts so that the amnesty has more defenders in the Upper House. So the appearance has more of self-aggrandizement in a Catalan key than giving the new amnesty the dimension of a State operation..

Aragonès takes the risk to take the position and fill the gap that Puigdemont has been leaving in recent days. Goes as president of the Generalitat. But the political move is for ERC, which has been saying for two weeks that the amnesty is done. Their defense in Madrid will be the clearest thing that the independence movement has spoken on the subject, and if in the end the investiture succeeds they will be able to claim their share of the spotlight..

Oriol Junqueras already did it. The president of ERC went to Madrid at the start of the negotiations to say that the amnesty was progressing smoothly. Last week, Junqueras and Pedro Sánchez spoke by phone for 45 minutes in a conversation that both parties valued very positively..

Now Pere Aragonès joins these movements in ERC. In fact, the Generalitat has not wanted to confirm or deny whether it is planned that he will meet with Pedro Sánchez on his trip to Madrid.. In any case, it is about capturing focus and then being able to display political triumphs before JxCAT.

On a national level, it will seem that Aragonès is alone and that the amnesty does not matter to the majority of Spaniards, even on the left.. It is the price of a staging of this type in the Senate. It will remain a matter for the Catalans, far from the “state pact” or the “historic agreement” that the independence leaders have sold, as is the case of Puigdemont.. But in a Catalan key, Aragonès aims to avoid JxCAT ending up surpassing them in votes. And with the advantage that the amnesty is an extension of the previous great success of the Republicans in the negotiation with Madrid: the pardons.

Traffic jam at Waterloo

Meanwhile, in Waterloo the talks with the Moncloa have stalled. There is no agreement on the figure of the mediator, which the central Executive and the PSOE reject. Nor about the explanatory statement of the future amnesty law, which those of Pedro Sánchez do not want to call that.. In the preamble of the law that is being worked on, we want to recognize the spirit of the ruling of the Supreme Court and Judge Manuel Marchena, in the sense that the independence movement ended up bypassing the law in a miscalculation to try to force the Spanish Government to negotiate. JxCAT also rejects this approach.. Furthermore, there remains the question of unilaterality. Those of Puigdemont refuse to propose any type of resignation or that it be included in the preamble of the law that they will also vote on.. All this separates both parties and makes dialogue very difficult..

ERC has prioritized contacts with Moncloa. On the other hand, you do not talk to JxCAT. But he has not explained what type of amnesty he proposes, nor what period it would affect.. Only Sumar has made a technical approach to the law, which all parties agree is not what is being negotiated.. It remains to be seen if Aragonès takes advantage of his appearance to define his type of amnesty.

All parts

However, it is not enough for ERC or JxCAT to give their approval to the negotiation. Both have to give it at the same time. Together with the PNV, Bildu and Sumar. The abstention of the Canary Coalition will then be sufficient. Therefore, the value of what Pere Aragonès contributes in the Senate will always be relative in terms of success for the agreement. But it will allow ERC to prevent JxCAT and Puigdemont from continuing to steal the spotlight in the negotiation scenario.