Mas warns CUP: blocking investiture would “jam” independence process
In his opening address in the investiture debate, re-election candidate Artur Mas emphasised social issues and accused the Spanish State of being “intolerant” to Catalonia’s reality. He lamented that “they don’t want to understand, they want to destroy”
BarcelonaIn his investiture speech Catalan president Artur Mas, who is hoping for re-election, wondered “who would want to live in a State that presses criminal charges against those who allow a vote”. “Who could feel safe in a State where democrats are treated as if they were crooks?”, he insisted, as he sent a clear message to the CUP: “Freedom is above and beyond ideology and partisan politics”. “Nobody can be excluded. I’ll say it again: nobody can be excluded”, were the words of the acting president, who set himself five goals: a participatory phase in the constituent process, the final design of the structures of an independent Catalonia, passing the bill on the constituent process, passing a juridical transitoriness act and deploying a foreign agenda.
Towards the end of his address, Mas warned the CUP that “there can be no definitive government without a presidential investiture and, therefore, the process could get jammed, at least for a while”. “It would make no sense at all to have a fully operational parliament side by side with a government that derives from the previous term”, Mas noted, and he accused Madrid of being “intolerant” of the Catalan nation.
“Can someone tell me how we are supposed to have a referendum when the PP, the PSOE and Ciudadanos won’t even pick up the phone or answer an email or sit at a table to discuss it? Can anyone tell me how we can have a referendum when a non-binding consultation a year ago meant that criminal charges were pressed against some of us, and we might be impeached or even wind up in prison?”, Mas asked.
The CDC leader stated that “this term must be used to transition from being a Spanish region to becoming an independent country. Every day, less of a region, more of a country”. The priorities are: “to make Catalonia a fairer, healthier, better educated nation; a country with more jobs, more transparent and modern”.
Mas’ speech underscored many social issues, including the rollout of a guaranteed minimum income, the protection of the right to a home for everyone, “equal” healthcare for refugees and the creation of Catalonia’s own social security, one of the first laws that the new parliament is supposed to pass. All these issues are about putting together a social emergency plan to provide an “immediate response” to those who need it the most.
As for the economy, the acting president mentioned the need to reform vocational training to ensure that “it meets” the demands of the job market and, once more, he vowed to support small and medium-sized businesses in Catalonia. Besides “a new boost” to industrial policies, Mas made a call to stay the course on the strategy for “research and innovation”. The CDC leader argued for the creation of a Catalan central bank and treasury, which should include bodies such as Catalonia’s fiscal council and international tax office.
Regeneration through independence
Mas pointed out that independence would allow the public’s perception of Catalan institutions to change. This is how he framed the new legality of the constituent process, the white book on participation and a new electoral law. “We must finish the job and pass an electoral law”, he noted. In terms of the new structures that need to be created, Mas mentioned an intelligence service.
Spain’s attitude and the democratic endorsement
“Pseudo-democracies use the Prosecutor and the police”, Mas remarked on the subject of the State’s attitude towards Catalonia’s institutions. The CDC leader stated that “they still refuse to talk and negotiate”, and he chastised Spanish president Mariano Rajoy for refusing to meet Catalan representatives to discuss the content of the independence declaration passed in the morning.
At the time when the debate was scheduled to start, there was no guarantee that the CDC leader would be voted in. In fact, the opposite was true. The CUP won’t budge on the matter of supporting his reelection, so Mas can only count on the 62 Junts pel Sí (“Together For Yes”) MPS to vote for him. Everyone expects candidate Mas not to secure a majority on the first vote on Tuesday afternoon, when an outright majority is required. A second vote should be held on Thursday, when a simple majority will suffice; but Mas will likely not secure one, either.
The acting president insisted that “the democratic endorsement of Together For Yes is very solid, very strong and very clear. This endorsement is further strengthened by the fact that we were the most voted slate in every county in Catalonia and in 96 per cent of all municipalities”. Mas also noted that “there is a clear secessionist majority for the first time” in Parliament.
The split and its consequences
The investiture debate began a few hours after the parliament had convened to green-light the declaration of the beginning of the breakaway process agreed by Together For Yes and the CUP. The motion, which states that the Spanish Constitutional Court will be ignored and the main laws for independence will be passed within thirty days, will be challenged immediately by the Spanish institutions, in what is due to become an unprecedented clash of legitimacies.
