Disagreement amongst main pro-independence parties on what Puigdemont vote of confidence will imply

Barcelona (CNA).- The vote of confidence that Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, will submit himself to in September is regarded differently by the two main pro-independence parties in the Parliament. While governing cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ considers voting in favour of Puigdemont’s presidency and backing the budget for 2017 “indivisible”, CUP understands that renewing the confidence in Puigdemont is part of the agreed pro-independence roadmap but not necessarily linked to the bill. The Catalan Government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, considers the budget an “indispensable tool” for the pro-independence roadmap to move forward and in a similar vein, Catalan Vice President and Minster for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, considers both issues to be “closely linked”.

“It would be nonsense if [voting in favour of Puigdemont’s presidency and backing the budget for 2017] would not be linked”, stated Munté. Munté assured that the Catalan Government is willing to “discuss with everybody” in order to overcome the deadlock on Puigdemont’s vote of confidence, which he announced he will submit himself to in September.

“Our main goal is to pass the vote of confidence and this would imply a very accurate negotiation strategy”, she said “without pre-existing agreements and talking to everybody to ensure the necessary majority”. In a similar sense, ‘Junts Pel Sí’ MP Roger Torrent stated that the cross-party list “has to talk with all the groups in the Parliament but especially with CUP, in order to restore the stability which was broken”.   

Munté added that passing the bill for 2017 is an “indispensable tool” for the pro-independence roadmap to move forward, an agreed process whose “confidence” will also have to be “revalidated” by the Parliament in September.

CUP set things apart

On the other hand, CUP separated support for President Puigdemont from backing the bill for 2017. “This wasn’t specified in the agreement”, stated CUP MP, Albert Botran in reference to the stability agreement between the pro-independence forces. Botran also criticised the fact that Junqueras’ statement was made on the radio rather than in an address to CUP. “We would appreciate that these positions be official and delivered to us accordingly”, he said.

Botran stated that CUP wasn’t aware that voting in favour of Puigdemont in the upcoming vote of confidence was linked to supporting the budget for 2017. Indeed, he only linked the vote of confidence to the pro-independence roadmap, which means the mandate that emerged from the 27-S elections and the agreed pro-independence declaration approved by the Parliament on the 9th of November. If this is the case, it would be “much easier” for Puigdemont to overcome the vote of confidence, he said.

Passing the bill: A turning point in the agreement between ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and CUP

CUP’s veto on the budget for 2016 in June provoked not only the extension of the bill for 2015 but also other major political consequences. One of them is the vote of confidence that Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, announced he will submit himself to in September. He stated at that time that the current government “doesn’t have guaranteed stability and therefore can’t rule”. “We can’t continue like this, we go nowhere with such a volatile basis”, he admitted. Puigdemont also commented that he considered the conditions which led to the agreement between the pro-independence forces ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and CUP after the 27-S elections to “have changed”.