29.01.2014 - 13:06
Oriol Junqueras, the president of the Catalan Republican Left, was interviewed yesterday on Catalan TV3, as the leader of the opposition. ‘It’s obvious that the current situation in this country is unsustainable,’ he said. And he continued, ‘The best way to resolve this situation is to use the best possible tools… The best way to do it is to put the future of the country in the hands of the people of Catalonia.’ With respect to the famous lunch on Saturday between politicians and business leaders in Fonteta, Junqueras said, ‘The future of the country should not be decided by a politician or by someone with a lot of money, or by someone who represents someone else with a lot of money. The decision has to be taken by each and every one of the citizens. We’ll decide the matter by going to vote.’
Opposition
The interview began talking about the role of ‘leader of the opposition’: ‘I am opposed to everything, and I do it very well. In the same way that some of the most important countries in Europe don’t think it’s a problem that the executive and the opposition collaborate together, we also think it’s a positive thing.’
Junqueras was clear about his position: ‘We act as the opposition in the most responsible way possible. We think it’s good do it this way because the country is going through a very difficult moment.’
He also spoke of his willingness to form part of the executive: ‘We’ve always said that when there was an agreement on the date and the question for the referendum, that we’d be willing to join the executive. We continue to be open to the president calling us to talk about it.’
Budget
‘We will do everything possible so that the additional income forecast for the budget is there. But we find ourselves in a situation in which the whole budget of the Catalan Government is not decided by us, but by the Spanish government, which also decides how much we are able to go into debt. In these terrible circumstances, our responsibility is to make the best budget possible. But it is a terrible budget, like the current circumstances. But they are the most social accounts in history, in percentage terms.’
European Elections
‘The ERC’s goal is to prioritize the national focus of the Catalan Countries and the personality of a civic candidacy, and therefore, the incorporation of independent citizens in the list. And we think it’s really important to have a broad-based list that represents a broad spectrum of the Catalan socialdemocracy and center-left. We cannot force anyone to form part of a joint list if they don’t want to. There are many who have distanced themselves. I will defend a clear position with these priorities to the national council this Saturday. We’ll have to see if we are able to incorporate these independent citizens but for now, we already have Josep Maria Terricabras as the head of our candidate list with a specific profile.’
Plan for holding the referendum
‘Our plan for holding the referendum is to trust in democracy; and to plan on being able to hold the referendum on November 9. You have to recognize that Rajoy speaks with totally clear pedagogy. We defend the legal current frameworks for holding a referendum. If they do not allow us to use those legal frameworks, we will use alternative ones. For example, we will look to see what the international legal jurisprudence says, which says that democracy is what defines the legal frameworks and not the reverse. International law says that it is the exercise of democracy that signals what is legal.’
‘Our roadmap is that the referendum is our best option. I will not talk about alternatives because I don’t want to undermine the possibility of holding the referendum. We want to do exactly the same thing that more than half of the current European States have done, who have chosen their future democratically. With respect to elections, note that the polls forecast that ERC will win, but we are not interested in snap elections.’
PSC and confidence in the president
‘The leadership of the PSC are doing everything possible to distance themselves from the exercise of democracy. We’re not asking them to be in favor of independence, but we are asking that they not oppose the possibility of a vote. And it’s not true that the majority of socialist are opposed; it is just some leaders who are.’
‘I trust the president, I want to trust him and I need to trust him. And I’ll stand firm on that. I do the same with Iniciativa, la CUP and anyone else necessary. We need the commitment of as many people as possible in order to exercise democracy.’
International involvement
‘The lack of international involvement will be the dominant trend in the sovereigntist process until the Catalans have made their decision. Until we have voted and won, it’s obvious that it remains an internal affair of the Spanish State. What are we if not an autonomous community? The situation will shift 180° on November 9th. Even the Spanish Government will open up to negotiating despite the fact that now they now employ insults and fear-mongering. The best way to counter these attacks is with democracy.’
