With the question and the date of the referendum on self-determination on the table, there are still those in Madrid who believe that the Catalan sovereignty process is a personal whim of the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas. For this reason, there are voices calling for him to be removed from office in order to stop the pro-sovereignty movement. This possibility is seen in Catalonia as an example of extreme myopia, but it may have some basis in the eyes of its own believers; after all, Mas was not in favour of independence until a few years ago. Furthermore, his political and institutional career responds more to the profile of a technocrat lacking political ideology than to a vocational politician wishing to save his country.
In fact, this career path sits perfectly with his social background and education. Mas is from a comfortably-off Barcelona family. He attended the exclusive Lycée Français and the elitist Escola Aula, which helped to forge his hard-working character, as well as providing him with a mastery of the English and French languages that, while very typical of Catalan politicians, is completely untypical of their Spanish counterparts. Shortly after graduating in Economics, Mas joined Convergència Democràtica (CDC), the party founded by Jordi Pujol at the end of the Franco regime, and began to ascend in the new Catalan autonomous government. He was appointed Minister of Economy in 1997 and everything indicated that he had reached the peak of his political career. Encouraged by a group of supporters who saw in him a possible renewer of the party and the possible horizons of national sovereignty, Mas surprised everyone when he becomes Pujol's successor and the leader of Catalan nationalism. As a good rationalist, Mas is very clear about two things: that Spain is a huge burden for Catalonia and that it is very difficult for Catalonia to become an independent state.
His first attempt to become President of the Generalitat in 2003, ended in a bitter victory: he won most votes in the election but the coalition of the alternative left-wing parties made up a majority that allowed them to occupy the Catalan government. In the election of 2006 the same scenario was repeated, but with two new factors. There was a new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and Mas had been betrayed by the President of the Spanish government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who promised him his support if he won the election. This betrayal taught him just how much the word of a Spanish president was worth.
But it was third time lucky for Mas, and he finally became President of the Generalitat in the 2010 election. The ruling of the Spanish Constitutional Court, which had effectively torpedoed the Catalan Statute of Autonomy a few months before the election, provoked a furious reaction in Catalonia and independence became the majority option. Mariano Rajoy's refusal to improve the financing of Catalonia forced Mas to call early elections on November 25th 2012 and activate the drive towards self-determination. Mas, who had taken the final step towards independentism, won the election once again and Esquerra Republicana, the historic party of Catalan separatism, became the second parliamentary force. Now, for the first time in history, the first two Catalan parties are committed to self-determination and have agreed on a calendar in which to implement it.
