cdc

Liberal ‘Convergència’ (CDC) will be from now on named the ‘Catalan Democratic Party’. This is what 871 people voted for at this weekend’s 18^th Congress of the party, while 657 opted for the other final option, the ‘Catalan National Party’. The aim of the Congress was to reinvent CDC, which ruled in Catalonia together with Christian Democrats ‘Unió’ for nearly 30 years, and adapt the party to “the new challenges ahead”. The ‘Catalan Democratic Party’ is defined as a pro-independence party instead of sovereigntist, which CDC used to be. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, celebrated that the new party “is at the Government’s, Parliament’s and Catalan society’s disposal” to help him achieve the task which he was entrusted with, that is to say putting Catalonia at the gates of independence.

Liberal Convergència (CDC), the party which ruled in Catalonia together with Christian Democrat ‘Unió’ for nearly 30 years,wants to reinvent itself. CDC, currently led by former Catalan President Artur Mas, has reinforced its pro-independence component since it split from ‘Unió’ and now aims to “create a new instrument” in line with “the new challenges ahead”. The party also aims to renew its board and Mas suggested a tandem formed by himself and Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté to head it. All these questions will be discussed this weekend at the 18^th CDC Congress and the new steps to take will have to be voted upon by more than 3,000 people.

Liberal Convergència (CDC), left-wing pro-independence ERC and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNB) have been excluded from the lunch organised on the occasion of the US President, Barack Obama’s visit to Spain. Spain’s King will preside over the event, to be held on Monday, and according to the Royal Household the reason for not inviting these parties is that Obama was interested in meeting the leaders of the most important political groups in the Spanish Parliament. Thus, current Spanish President and leader of the Conservative People’s Party (PP), Mariano Rajoy, Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) leader, Pedro Sánchez, Pablo Iglesias, leader of alternative left coalition Unidos-Podemos and Albert Rivera, from Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’ will attend the lunch, as well as several acting ministers.

Alternative left coalition ‘En Comú Podem’ has won the 2016 Spanish Elections in Catalonia. The party, which has Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as its strongest asset, obtained 12 MPs, the same number of MPs as in the last Spanish Elections, held in December 2015. Pro-independence left-wing ERC also repeated the same results as 2015, with 9 seats and CDC, which ran under the name ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ in the last Spanish Elections, also got the same result and obtained 8 MPs. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) added one seat to their 7 existing seats in the Spanish Parliament, the Conservative People’s Party (PP) got 6 MPs, one more than in the last Elections, and Spanish Unionist Ciutadans was the only party to lose a seat and has now 4 MPs. In the whole of Spain PP again won the elections and improved their results, with 137 MPs, 14 more than in December 2015. Thus, the political panorama in Catalonia and Spain remains the same as after the last Spanish Elections.

Liberal Convergència (CDC), run for the last Spanish Elections under the name ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ (‘Democracy and Freedom’) and secured 8 MPs in the 350-seat Spanish Parliament. Thisat was the first time that CDC raun for the Spanish Elections without Christian Democrat ‘Unió’, after their 40 years-long coalition split up over differences on Catalonia’s pro-independence process. This time around, Convergència has decided to run under theirhis original name and present themselves as a guarantor that Catalonia’s push for independence staysed “united” and “strong”.  “Our trajectory supports us”, stated  CDC’s candidate for the Spanish Elections, former Catalan Government’s spokesman Frances Homs, ion an article published by CNA.

Catalan independence, and how to achieve it or stop it, was one of the main topics on the Spanish general electoral campaign trail on Friday in Catalonia. The candidates of the two parties of the governing ‘Junts pel Sí’ coalition, liberal Convergència (CDC) and left-wing Esquerra (ERC), presented different views on the idea of a unilateral referendum on independence, while ‘En Comú Podem’, the Catalan branch of ‘Unidos Podemos’, warned against organising, again, a non-consented consultation such as the one on the 9th of November 2014. “It wouldn’t be useful to call a unilateral referendum on independence if ‘no’ voters decide to boycott it”, said CDC candidate Francesc Homs, who is actually facing trial for helping to organise the 2014 consultation. Such a vote would be “worrying”, said Xavier Domènech, from ‘En Comú Podem’, who has always pointed out that his party, if victorious in the election, would call an official referendum. The candidate from ERC, Gabriel Rufián, stressed that they “will always support initiatives that give a voice to the citizens”.

The Catalan President said that liberal party Convergència Democràtica (CDC) needs to be “renewed” and members should not be afraid of forming a new one, even under a “new name”. “We need new leadership, a new language, new priorities, new ways of governing and to offer new messages to the citizens”, he said in an interview with CNA. The CDC party is celebrating an internal consultation on the 21st of May to decide its own future. Former president Artur Mas and president of CDC said this week that he aims to create a new party, in comments now echoed by his successor in the Government, Carles Puigdemont.

The European Parliament has approved a new Port Services Regulation (PSR) which grants each port the legislative power to regulate its own rates and internal structure. This new regulation could end the “hypercentralism” of the Puertos del Estado, the government-run sector which controls the ports in Spain. As the Port of Barcelona has seen more and more traffic in the last few years, this could allow for it to truly ¨thrive”, by allowing it to lower its rates to more competitive prices, and opening it to becoming a European port for international commerce. The conservative People’s Party (PP), the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), and Unionist Ciutadans all voted against the legislation. 

The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, received a representation from the Association of Liberal and Democrats of Europe (ALDE) group amid the controversy surrounding the recent suspension of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). ALDE President and MEP Hans Van Baalen, who has repeatedly defended Catalonia’s right to decide its political future, was joined by ALDE’s general secretary, Jacob Moroza-Rasmussen and political adviser, Laura Laussade. They met President Puigdemont and the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, former MEP Raül Romeva. Liberal party CDC’s spokeswoman and ALDE vice president, Marta Pascal, also attended the meeting, together with Spanish Parliament MP and the President of the Catalan foundation ‘Llibertat i Democràcia’, Jordi Xuclà.

Current governing party liberal CDC commented on CUP’s ‘no’ to investing President Mas as President and accused the radical left party of being “immature” and “putting the revolution before independence”, according to CDC’s general coordinator, Josep Rull. “CUP hasn’t been able to make operative the majority of 72 pro-independence MPs” stated Rull and added that “by accepting CUP’s demands it will look like the minority of 10MPs out of 135 is leading the process”. Rull denied that cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ would present an alternative candidate to Artur Mas. “We have moved because we wanted to be respectful of the 27-S democratic mandate” he emphasised “and they told us to reach agreements to make the roadmap possible”. 

The negotiations between pro-independence forces radical left CUP and cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to constitute a new government in Catalonia are continuing. The results of the 20-D Spanish Elections and the victory of alternative left coalition En Comú Podem in Catalonia and the good result of left wing ERC show that Catalonia is turning to the left, according to CUP. The party has therefore reinforced their ‘no’ to instating Artur Mas as Catalan President and has called on ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to propose “an alternative presidency which could generate a greater consensus”. CUP has also invited En Comú Podem and their partners in the Catalan Parliament, Catalunya Sí que es Pot, to join the “constitutive process of the Catalan Republic”.

'Democràcia i Llibertat' (Democracy and Freedom) gathers together members from Liberal CDC, the party currently leading the Catalan Government, ‘Demòcrates de Catalunya’, the party which split from former CDC partner Christian-Democrat Unió, and ‘Reagrupament’, constituted by former members of left wing ERC. “The name symbolises what we are committed to doing: attaining Catalonia’s freedom through democracy” stated Democràcia i Llibertat’s candidate for Barcelona, Francesc Homs. “Our only instrument to defend our cause is voting” he stated “therefore, every time the ballot boxes are put out we will vote”. The former Catalan Minister for the Presidency assured that the international community will be following the Spanish Elections, but they will pay special attention to “what Catalonia will vote” and see if this vote “has a connection” with the political process that Catalonia is going through.

Christian-Democrat Unió is the smaller party within the former governing coalition CiU. After the political alliance's break up, Unió is running in the Spanish elections "to represent all those Catalans who defend a moderate position" and believe "in dialogue and agreement" as the only "possible solution" to improve Catalonia's relationship with Spain, stated its leader Josep Anton Duran i Lleida. According to Duran the "pro-independence forces are tricking the citizens" in Catalonia, as they have "already reached an agreement" but refuse "to explain its consequences to the citizens" which he assured "represents electoral fraud". Catalonia's independence, besides being "impossible" will lead to "political and economic instability", assured Duran i Lleida and added that none of the parties involved and "of course not the EU" will accept the rupture of a Member State nor another crisis within the EU "like the Greek one but with greater dimensions".

Catalan Minister for Agriculture Jordi Ciuraneta claimed that Spanish diplomacy “obstructed”the commercial mission to China of twenty Catalan companies from the meat, fish and citrus fruit sectors. According to Ciuraneta, Spain’s embassy interfered to “cancel”two important meetings between Catalan businessmen, representatives from the Catalan government and several Chinese organisations responsible for authorising the Catalan companies’exports, scheduled for this Wednesday. Ciuraneta considered it “institutional aggression”that “damages”the Catalan companies who travelled to China and their commercial mission. Catalan liberal party CDC MEP Ramon Tremosa stated that Spain’s executive “contradicts the European policies regarding the opening of new markets”and asked the European Commission to investigate what he described as “Spain’s diplomacy boycott”.

Radical left pro-independence CUP have repeatedly insisted that they won't instate Mas as Catalan President. However, this Thursday, for the first time since the negotiations with cross-party list 'Junts Pel Sï' began, CUP didn't urge their pro-independence partner to propose an alternative candidate for president. The radical left party did remind everyone that they are still waiting for "a new proposal" from 'Junts Pel Sí' which would have to contain "substantial changes" regarding "the what, the how and the when" but didn't specify anything about who will have to lead the new government. CUP assured that once they receive the new proposal they will put it to vote amongst their members in an extraordinary assembly, probably to be held on the 29^th of November, once they have completed an internal consultation process with all the territorial factions.