The Disagreements in Catalonia Have Intensified

• 06.20.2015, 15:13
•  Europe

Catalonia's ruling "Union of Catalonia and convergence" partisan coalition, led by the autonomous region’s Prime Minister Arthur Mass, has been dissolved, El Pais newspaper informs.

This coalition included representatives from the "Democratic convergence of Catalonia" and "People's Union of Catalonia" parties. Over three decades the parties participated in the elections with a united front.

At the end of the last week, as a result of the internal disputes within the party, the leadership of "National Union of Catalonia" decided that Arthur Mass’s proposed road map to independence is not a convenient plan. In response to this, the "Democratic convergence of Catalonia" made a decision to cancel the agreement. The Secretary Jose Pull stated that this decision is final and there is no way back. "The "Union of Catalonia and the convergenceʺ program is over," he said.

The representatives of "People's Union of Catalonia" have already announced that they are going to leave the Catalan government. For example, the ministers of Internal Affairs and Agriculture will resign soon. In addition, the parties will have to decide how to redistribute the number of seats in both Spanish and Catalan Parliaments between the parties, and Catalonia, where the ruling coalition has 16 seats in the lower house and 13 seats in the Upper House. In addition, it has two seats in the European Parliament.

As for Arthur Mass’s proposal concerning the independence of Catalonia, it should be noted that according to it, during the elections of September 27,  in the case the supporters of the independence of Catalonia win, a process of gaining an independence will begin, which will last for maximum 18 months. In the meantime, a new parliament will be established, a new constitution drafted and new elections held in 2017. So Arthur Mass’s road map to the independence does not take into account the position of the central government unlike the "People's Union of Catalonia," which believes that Catalonia's independence by all means should be agreed with Madrid.

Let’s recall that in November 2014 there was a poll concerning Catalonia's independence from the central government. More than 80 percent of Catalonians voted then in favor of full independence. But last week, Spain's Constitutional Court unanimously qualified the poll held by the government of Catalonia as an illegal one as "the Catalan autonomous government is not eligible to hold a referendum on issues that refer to the whole country."