On Thursday, the National Council of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) decided to facilitate Sánchez’s investiture and thus a PSOE-Podemos coalition government in Spain.
ERC emphasized that, in the party’s opinion, “recognition” of the existence of the Catalan conflict by PSOE has been achieved and, therefore, now is the time to take the “political path” through negotiations, not started by the Republican party, but “by the Government of Catalonia, as a country” and that, if the Spanish government of PSOE and Podemos deceives them once again, it will be the last time.
The agreement between ERC and PSOE includes a negotiating table during this legislature and a vote on the agreements.
Podemos and PSOE announced earlier this week that the negotiations would always take place within the Spanish Constitution, which would exclude the right to self-determination of the Catalans.
The investiture session of Pedro Sánchez is set to take place between this morning and Tuesday.
Reaction of Pro-independence Organizations and Parties
President Torra told Vice-President Aragonès on Thursday morning that the ERC/PSOE agreement does not have the approval of the Catalan government and that the executive will not take responsibility for it. The President understands that this is an agreement between parties and that any agreement with PSOE should “include the right to self-determination of Catalonia.”
The far-left party CUP also rejected the agreement, assuring that “it is far from resolving the Catalan conflict.”
The ANC warned that the agreement could lead to a second failed transition. Its President, Elisenda Paluzie, also said that “it could make the Catalan conflict become an internal matter in the eyes of the international community.”
JxCat affirmed that “it is an agreement between two political parties: ERC-PSOE, not the Catalan and Spanish governments.”
Democràtes party rejected the agreement and announced that they will decide in assembly on January 13 whether to abandon the ERC parliamentary group.
Numerous CDRs also announced their rejection and discontent with the agreement on social media.
ERC risks big losses in the next Catalan election, which is likely to take place in the next few months, if the negotiating table with PSOE does not yield immediate results on a self-determination referendum and the release of jailed Catalan leaders.
Josep Goded 