Mas: ‘The new government is united behind the goal of an independent state’


The president of the Catalan government, Artur Mas, this afternoon appointed new cabinet members following the breakup of the federation formed by his party, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, and Unió Democràtica de Catalunya.  The names of the new cabinet members were announced early afternoon. Neus Munté will be kept on as minister of social welfare and has been named the government’s vice president and press secretary; Meritxell Borràs will become the governance minister; Jordi Jané will be the minister of home affairs; and Jordi Ciuraneta will head the Ministry of Agriculture. The Minister of the Presidency, Francesc Homs, will be replaced by Munté as government spokesperson.

Speaking during the appointment ceremony, Mas thanked Joana Ortega, Ramon Espadaler, and Josep Maria Pelegrí, the three departing cabinet members, for their contributions. The president also wished the new ministers luck and success, ‘which shall benefit the whole of the people of Catalonia’, and explained that the appointment of Neus Munté as vice president is meant to signal ‘the government’s commitment to placing social welfare at the forefront’. Mas explained that Munté will be taking over as press secretary in order to allow Homs to join the electoral campaign.

The new members of the executive will serve for a brief term, given that the 27 September elections are right around the corner. Furthermore, as there are only two parliamentary plenary sessions left in the legislative calendar, it will not be possible to launch any new legislative initiative. The most challenging of the reshuffled ministerial posts is that of home office, given that the summer season has already begun and the risk of forest fires is high this year. ‘The new government is united behind its ultimate goal for the nation: an independent Catalan state’, said president Mas, who insisted that the Catalan government ‘wants citizens to be allowed to voice their opinion on the issue of national emancipation, which must be for all Catalans’.