Party review: Anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans will do “everything in their hands” to avoid independence

Barcelona (CNA).- According to candidate Inés Arrimadas, anti-Catalan nationalism party Ciutadans “is the alternative to both the stagnant and pro-independence parties”. Founded in 2006, Ciutadans (C’s) soon found their place in the Catalan political scene and their support amongst the voters has grown exponentially since then. At present, they have 9 of the 135 seats which compose the Catalan Parliament and most of the polls forecast that they will be the second force in the upcoming 27-S elections. They define themselves as the only party which understands the real problems of the citizens and which will effectively work to reform Spain. Their position regarding Catalonia’s independence is clear: “I’ll do everything in my hands to avoid Catalonia’s independence” assured Arrimadas at a press conference held this Tuesday at CNA headquarters. 

“We are the only alternative to a government ruled by President Mas” stated Arrimadas “and the only guarantee to avoid a ‘corralito’ and exit from the EU”. Anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans’ candidate to run for Catalan President stated that she will do everything in her hands “to avoid Catalonia’s independence”. “Breaking Spain apart doesn’t come without consequences” she warned “it means being outside of the EU and of European Central Bank protection. There is nothing else to talk about”. Arrimadas assured that Ciutadans is the reformist party, the party of “sensible proposals and democratic regeneration”. “We don’t have a magic wand and we don’t say that independence will be the solution to all of our problems” she emphasised “but we call for reform of the Spanish Constitution and the improving of our citizens’ lives; all of them, the Catalans but also the Spanish”. She highlighted that no one has doubts about Ciutadans’ roadmap. “People know what we want to do; on the day after the elections and in two years’ time. Here and in Spain. And always within the law” she stated.

“Everthing” to avoid Catalonia’s independence

“I’ll do everything in my hands to avoid Catalonia’s independence” stated Arrimadas. When asked about Ciutadans’ reaction in the event of a pro-independence forces victory on the 27-S, she assured that they “work harder every day” to avoid such a situation. “The conservative People’s Party (PP) does think about the reactions to this, because they know they won’t win the elections. We don’t think about our reaction because we want to beat the pro-independence forces. We want to win” she stated. “We are very close” she emphasised, referring to the second position in the elections that the majority of the polls forecast. “We don’t want a confrontation with Spain, we don’t want a Unilateral Declaration of Independence and we don’t want to be banned from the EU” she stated. “Spain has all the mechanisms to stop” a declaration of independence “just like all democratic countries have”. Referring to the ‘campaign of fear’ that pro-independence parties have accused the banking and other sectors of carrying out, Arrimadas stated that “the campaign of fear is carried out by those who want to leave Spain and the EU”.

Independence is not the solution

Arrimadas also accused pro-independence parties of confusing “political problems with citizens’ problems”. “Independence is not what our citizens are worried about” she emphasised “the problem is that many parties have told them that Catalonia’s independence is the solution to all their problems”. She assured that Ciutadans is “a party of services, not of institutions” and defended their proposals to reform Spain and make a better “Catalonia within a better Spain”.

Constitutional Reform

Ciutadans’ proposal is to reform Spain’s Constitution in order to “improve the funding of all the Autonomous Communities”. Arrimadas assured that this means “more autonomy for Catalonia” as there will be “more tools” at its disposal. However, she said that it won’t be possible with a PP absolute majority in the government of Spain to have a better agreement. “The PP has shown no interest in improving the funding in the last 4 years”. “We have to wait and see what happens in the upcoming Spanish elections”. In fact, Ciutadans is running this time for the first time in the Spanish elections and they highlight that their proposals “are clear to everybody”. “We don’t change our proposals because we want the same in Catalonia as in the whole of Spain: a better life for our citizens”.

Arrimadas also proposes a reform of the Spanish Senate, which she defined as “a useless institution” and defended the simplification of the levels of the Administration “in order to avoid overlapping of competences and extra costs for the citizens”.