11.10.2022 - 18:07
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Actualització: 11.10.2022 - 18:09
The new government of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya is up and running after the new cabinet members were appointed on Tuesday morning ahead of the first meeting of the new executive. This is the first time since January 1934 that the left-wing pro-independence party will rule without being part of any coalition. The ceremony was the final outcome of Junts per Catalunya will to leave the cabinet after members decided in an internal vote to quit the executive after 500 days of its first steps.
The economy minister, Natàlia Mas; foreign and European Union minister Meritxell Serret; territory minister Juli Fernández; health minister Manel Balcells; justice, rights, and memory minister Gemma Ubasart; social rights minister Carles Campuzano; and universities and research minister Joaquim Nadal; were officially appointed during a short ceremony in the Catalan government headquarters. During the ceremony, Catalan president Pere Aragonès highlighted the importance of the new cabinet as they will be “serving society,” during “a difficult time” because of the financial and social crisis but also because of political relations between Catalonia and Spain.
“The government starts a new stage which includes experience, will of improvement, and creativity,” Aragonès said during his speech. The president also talked about the “added value” that the new cabinet will have thanks to the new members that will continue working towards Catalonia’s independence. The new executive is “determined” to “place Catalonia’s political future at the hands of its citizens,” the head of government concluded.
ERC’s future challenges
Esquerra Republicana started a new political landscape on Tuesday as this will be the first time they rule alone since January 1934. Back then, member of ERC Lluís Companys was appointed president on January 1, after the sudden death of president at the time Francesc Macià. Macià passed away on December 25, 1933 leaving behind the last solo government of ERC until now. Currently, the party faces a new challenge as opposed to back then ERC had the majority in parliament, and the new cabinet only has support from the 33 party MPs in a chamber with 135 seats.
One of the biggest tests ahead for the new cabinet will be the 2023 budget. The former finance minister, Jaume Giró, from Junts had been preparing the spending plan for months, and on September 28 he allocated the funding to each department. Now, it is the turn of Esquerra’s members to negotiate with other parties to greenlight the budget, however, Junqueras said that “the spending plan has been agreed with Junts,” therefore it would be “weird” for the political force to vote against a spending plan that they considered great. However, extending the current budget law is not something the party wants but they do not rule it out.
The investiture deal between Junts per Catalunya and Esquerra Republicana to make Pere Aragonès the Catalan president continues in place, according to ERC’s president Oriol Junqueras on Monday. The agreement saw ERC taking the presidency while Junts took the chamber speaker position for Laura Borràs, currently suspended over corruption charges since July. Right now, the seat is occupied by acting parliament speaker Alba Vergès, from ERC, however, the future of the post “is a decision that Junts has to take,” Junqueras said.
Criticism from opposition
The first solo government of Esquerra is not welcomed by everyone. The opposition believes the cabinet is “politically and democratically illegitimate,” as Laura Borràs, president of the former junior coalition partner Junts per Catalunya tweeted on Sunday night. The executive needs to be greenlighted in the “Catalan parliament or in elections,” the suspended Chamber speaker added as “coherence has to be the main political characteristic of those who lead.”
The comments come after Catalan president Pere Aragonès said that the new cabinet will “represent the consensus of 80% of citizens” as surveys state that four out of five Catalans are in favor of a self-determination referendum. The leader continued as the executive will be one that will “always work for the service of the people and give its all,” he said in a tweet sent on Sunday evening.
