C’s suggests using Spanish inspectors against Catalan-medium teaching

MadridCiudadanos are aiming to step up their fight against Catalan language immersion schooling. During the ongoing talks to secure a majority in parliament that will re-elect Mariano Rajoy, Ciudadanos have found a much more sympathetic ear in the PP on this particular issue, one which put a strain on negotiations with the PSOE six months ago. Still, Albert Rivera’s party feels that Madrid’s judicial and legal onslaught on Catalan-medium schooling during the previous term was not enough, and they have asked the PP to employ effective methods to ensure that the Catalan authorities abide by court rulings against Catalan language immersion programmes.

Ciudadanos want Madrid to send its own inspectors to schools in Catalonia to make sure that lessons are taught in Spanish wherever a court has ordered a school to do so. Yesterday José Manuel Villegas, C’s deputy Secretary General, noted that this is a “recourse” which the PP government has shunned. While the Catalan Statute states that it is the Catalan authorities who have exclusive powers over school inspections, Ciudadanos cite Spain’s education act (LOE) and point to Spain’s High Inspectorate, a body that reports to the Spanish government’s regional representatives. Among others, its job is to “ensure that all Spaniards are treated equally (…) and have equal language rights”.

At any rate, sources within Catalonia’s Education Ministry claimed that the Inspectorate would have to request action from the Catalan authorities and emphasised that the Catalan government has never ignored any court rulings on Catalan-medium teaching. The same sources did acknowledge that the Ministry might have chosen to provide a particular pupil with one on one tuition in Spanish to comply with a court injunction, while their classmates continued to have their lessons taught in Catalan. Ciudadanos wish to put an end to this sort of differential treatment.

However, sources within Ciudadanos admitted that their proposal has not received a formal answer from the PP yet. One thing is clear, though: any eventual agreement with the PP will feature a package of policies on Catalonia, including a new trilingual education system to increase the number of contact hours in Spanish and English at the expense of Catalan —as José Ramón Bauzá did while he was the PP’s regional president of the Balearic Islands—, as well as an explicit veto on an independence referendum, better regional funding and a commitment to build the Mediterranean railway line, all of which are policies that both parties agree on. In fact, they actually featured in their election manifestos. On Friday Ciudadanos and the PP were due to meet in order to discuss steps to protect Spain’s unity. In February this year Rivera’s party forced the PSOE to agree to veto a hypothetical self-determination referendum. A similar agreement with the PP is expected now.

Hurdles

Last Tuesday, the leadership of Ciudadanos expressed their satisfaction at the end of the day’s talks, after having made concessions on anti-corruption policies. On Wednesday they attempted to offset those concession with demands to tackle the Catalan independence bid and by putting pressure on the PP on welfare issues.

That evening Juan Carlos Girauta, C’s spokesman in the Spanish parliament, voiced his “concern and dismay by the lack of progress in the negotiation with Rajoy’s party due to the PP’s lack of political will”. His words hinted at an immediate breakdown in talks, but only a few minutes later he tried to sound less ominous about it: “I’m not here because of a breakdown in talks, but to get the PP’s attention”, he stated.

Rajoy’s party was quick to send out “a reassuring message”. They feel that the problem is straightforward: Ciudadanos demand measures that are unfeasible and they should understand that you cannot get extra cash by scrapping Spain’s provincial governments or raising fiscal pressure on the people who took advantage of the PP’s fiscal amnesty.

These are precisely the two demands that Ciudadanos have made in order to fund an urgent welfare scheme that would amount to €7bn and they have become the main hurdle once C’s agreed to compromise on the anti-corruption pact. Despite Girauta’s warning, nobody in his party doubts that Ciudadanos will vote for Mariano Rajoy in parliament next week, but they are working to persuade the PP to make concessions on policies —such as reforming the Senate and preventing partisan politics from interfering with the judiciary— which they claim to have toned down for the PP’s sake.

Meanwhile, PP leader Mariano Rajoy is acting regardless of the ongoing talks: he sent out media invitations to a rally in Pontevedra last Saturday and he meant to give PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez a phone call over the weekend, as he had stated he would.

The state of the negotiation: Girauta is “dismayed” by the lack of progress on economic issues

Reforming Spain’s institutions

Scrapping the provincial governments, reforming the Senate and shielding the justice system from partisan politics are some of the proposals laid out by Ciudadanos on Wednesday afternoon. According to spokesman Juan Carlos Girauta, the PP said no to all of them.

The anti-corruption pact

Ciudadanos made concessions on the conditions that led to an agreement on corruption: they accepted the PP’s proposal whereby only profiteering and illegal party funding would be classed as political corruption. As a result, indictments such as those of former Andalusian presidents Chávez and Griñán —which posed a major obstacle for Ciudadanos to reach an understanding with Susana Díaz last year— would no longer be an issue.

Welfare policies

While both parties agree on the measures to be brought in, they disagree on the actual amounts earmarked for each scheme. Ciudadanos have urged the PP to commit to an urgent welfare scheme worth over €7bn, but the Partido Popular claim that Spain’s coffers are empty and the deficit target must be met.

The jobs market

It appeared as if the controversial single work contract espoused by C’s might have become one of the main hurdles in their talks with the PP, but Rivera’s party are no longer demanding it. However, they do insist on new government aid for low-income families. The two parties disagree on the actual amount.