In the coming days, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) will have in its hands one of the most important political decisions of the last decade: support or reject the investment in Catalonia of Salvador Illa (PSC), burying the last vestige of the bloc policy (independence supporters versus non-independence supporters) that the processes. Marta Rovira (Vic, Barcelona, 47 years old), general secretary of the party, is not only leading the negotiations. He is also working hard to build trust among the ERC bases, which are under pressure from the struggle for internal leadership with socialists who want to show themselves as reliable partners“We do not work for Illa or for the PSC, but for the citizens of Catalonia,” he stressed.
To ask. What is preventing the conclusion of the investiture agreement with the PSC today?
Answer. The issues that remain outstanding are of great importance to ensure that the agreement is sustainable over time, and that any change of government will not mean that it will be dismantled.
Q. Are you focusing on financing?
R. Especially in the area of financing.
Q. Since the election campaign, they have excluded the Tax Consortium offered to the PSC and it is mentioned in the Statute. Isn't it absurd to reject progress in the area of self-government?
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R. No. The Consortium reminds us of the minority relationship we have with the Spanish State. Today, the Government gives us or transfers an advance and it is like the payment you give to your little son to wake up to his whims. Catalonia wants to grow up, it generates resources that must decide how to invest them, depending on needs. We want a bilateral relationship in which Catalonia pays the bill for the services that the State provides it, but in a face-to-face relationship and with the solidarity that defines the political system in which Catalonia currently lives as an autonomous community.
Q. But the Statute opens the door the government entrusts the collection to the Catalan tax authority…
R. If the self-government of Catalonia is valued, we should be able to demand our own tax authority, and not a consortium, to collect all the taxes. And this is not new, it already exists in the Spanish system. Why can’t Catalonia, which is one of the most affected communities in terms of budget deficits, emerge from this situation of decompensation and become truly empowered in terms of self-government?
Q. Scotland obtained the income tax transfer from the UK in 2016. Will the deal end up here?
R. Scotland has not been on the table as an example in this regard, but it could be replicable. Income tax in Catalonia is one of the most revenue-generating taxes and it would be a very significant leap if it were Personal income tax is the first tax that the Catalan tax authorities can collect.
Q. And are you considering a system that would allow you to shield a certain percentage of investments in Catalonia?
R. It is one of the things that worries us the most: having the guarantees that what has been agreed upon will actually be fulfilled. We are thinking about systems for this, but the best guarantee is having a political position of power, getting a lot of votes and seats.
Q. Has the pressure of the past few days on the agreements that the PSOE was working on improved its internal credibility and that of the Socialists?
R. It is not only the militancy that accuses us of the socialists not being trustworthy, the voters also complain. That is why it was very important that the PSOE, while we were negotiating the investiture, made progress on what was still pending. AND Over the past week we have seen some very important results. Without that, we would not be able to give the socialists more credit. We also warned that we want guarantees on compliance with what cannot be concluded this week. All this has been made possible thanks to the international table verifiers between parties.
Q. Why was the canal not used? the Bilateral Commission for example, to complete the transfer of management of the minimum vital income earlier?
R. At a time when the PSC is asking us for support to invest in Illa, we must take advantage of this interpellation between political parties to remember that there are a series of cases of non-compliance. Since most of them have been completed, the space we have used has been useful.
Q. Ironically, if the deal goes ahead, it will be Salvador Illa, not ERC, who will ultimately manage all the agreed progress.
R. What ERC can assume is an agreement for Catalonia, which will help Catalonia move forward, especially in terms of financing, and allow the country to maintain public services and avoid cuts. It is not an agreement with the PSC, it is not an agreement to make Salvador Illa president, but it is an agreement to help Catalonia move forward. That means going to the opposition, there is no government pact. We do not work for Salvador Illa or for the PSC, but for the citizens of Catalonia and their needs. ERC tries to take advantage of the strength and influence that other organisations recognise in these negotiations. The PSC, the Junts and the Commons come looking for us. The way to be useful is to force the government of the Generalitat, whoever is there, to improve financing.
Q. He has also been insisting on this in recent days the need to maintain the work of the government of Pere AragonèsFor example, would you like to request that the budgets you have prepared be approved?
R. We did not talk about budgets, we started defending a series of republican policies, where the human being is at the centre. In favour of women, of reconciliation between family and work, a commitment has emerged for the energy transition or free education for children from 0 to 3 years old, for the reindustrialisation of the country… All this must be maintained.
Q. Will the militant Rovira defend the pact with the PSC?
R. At this point we can lay the foundations for what I would consider a good agreement for the country, but if we don't have the guarantees that it will be sustainable in the long term, I won't be able to defend it when we eventually conclude it.
Q. Do you see space to connect with the bases and thus be able to pass? the litmus test of internal consultation?
R. The ERC is in a complex moment, waiting for a national congress in which decisions must be taken if it wants to regain the confidence of its citizens, after four consecutive electoral defeats. And we must also soon make the decision that will mark the next years of the party. Without a collective consensus on how and what to negotiate for the investiture, management decisions would most likely be invalid. After listening to the militancy, we have the mandate to use the power of our votes to sit down with the PSC, giving priority to the issue of financing. Next week we will explain how far we have come. We ask you to think in your vote whether the agreement is good or not for Catalonia, and not whether it is a statement of support for the leadership. Let us think about whether this is better or whether we go to new elections with the risk of having the same majorities and less negotiating power, because then the agreement could be worse.
Q. What if the agreement fails?
R. We are a radical democratic organization and what the armed forces decide will be the right solution. I trust in the political maturity of the organization and democracy does not scare me. We start from what the militants decide and we will try to create sufficient guarantees for a debate and to understand what we are going to decide.
Q. Some voices are also encouraging this vote to become a referendum against a leadership characterized by the scandal of the Ernest Maragall posters.
R. Esquerra has built up enough political maturity to know exactly what will be voted on in the consultation, and the armed forces know that they will have the opportunity to vote on leadership and direction at the national congress on November 30.
Q. ¿He himself announced the return of Carles Puigdemont Could this somehow affect the significance of the ERC vote at the investiture session, even if the pact had already been approved?
R. There is only one scenario that can overcome a whole series of tensions that may be tactical in nature, and that is that there is a really good deal for the country.
Q. Given the experiences with the amnesty, would it not be positive to link the Junts in the financing debate to the agreement already signed?
R. Junts may have a more positive relationship with a potential PSC-PSOE agreement if it is a good agreement for the country.
Q. Are you disappointed by the lack of unity in your party?
R. We cannot turn political disagreements into a drama. In Esquerra we share an ideological statement and act coherently, but the way to formulate agreements is to generate consensus and that implies debate.
Q. But go as low as the posters about the Maragalls…
R. If this is used to undermine the guarantees of an internal debate, I am very sorry. It is difficult to separate this, but we must be able to do both: be a robust organisation that relies on its system of guarantees and conspires to clear responsibility and guarantee that this will not happen again, and at the same time continue to play politics. If we block ourselves, we are not ensuring that we meet the needs of the country. I appreciate the militancy and the party, and that is why I did something that I find very crazy, namely that we organised the return of Switzerland in order to be able to speak out in the National Council on the issue of the posters. I have also come to the conclusion that this blunder has come to light, coinciding with this crucial political moment to weaken our negotiating position.
Q. Is ERC ready to make decisions without looking at Junts?
R. ERC must make its decisions based on what it thinks is best for the country, we have enough capacity. The rest can criticize as much as they want, but we must act without complexes and let our twenty deputies count.
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