ERC discard election deal with Socialists

Catalan vice president and high-ranking member of Esquerra Republicana (ERC), Pere Aragonès, has discounted the possibility of making election agreements with the Socialists, saying “there is nothing to pact on.”

Speaking on Saturday at a party regional congress in Barcelona, Aragonès criticized the Socialists’ "self-exclusion from the consensus of the country" and from the Catalan budget, not having attended the parliamentary investigation on the consequences of direct rule, and for rejecting self-determination. 

Aragonès said that ERC had "paved the way" for independence and warned that it would not be "ceasing" but rather, "moving forward." 

The vice president called on the Catalan populace to turn out a majority vote for pro-independence parties in the coming elections, so that the result can be put on the negotiating table with the Spanish government.

ERC enabled the formation of Pedro Sánchez's government in Madrid by abstaining in the vote to name him president following November's Spanish election. 

In exchange, the Socialists committed to dialogue surrounding the Catalan independence question.