Feijóo's promise to promote a Catalanist shift in the PP stalls.

BarcelonaWhen Alberto Núñez Feijóo was appointed leader of the PP, he spoke of "Catalan nationality," of improving financing, and championed "constitutional Catalanism." But the passage of time and the unique profile of the PP leader in the Principality, Alejandro Fernández, have left the idea on the back foot, although it could have traction. There are cadres who advocate recovering the spirit of former leader Josep Piqué, as the Galician PP does. Now, is it likely that he will eventually push this constitutional Catalanism forward?

Catalanism is a concept that is no longer publicly championed, not even Feijóo. But the idea of the Galician politician, who has continued to explore synergies with the Catalan business community, is the same. And that the recognition of calls to derail the official status of Catalan in Europe were once at the bottom of the heap. Current PP leaders consulted by ARA have differing opinions about its future: some think the idea of Catalanism is a mere anecdote, others believe Feijóo will promote it when he becomes president of Spain, and others think it could bear fruit by changing its name.

The PP's "Catalanist" hope

ARA has also contacted two long-standing members of the PP who have sympathized with constitutional Catalanism: Rafa Luna, the secretary general when Piqué presided over the party in Catalonia, a former deputy and now a councilor in Roda de Berà; and Dolors Montserrat y Culleré, the former spokesperson for the Parliament, mother of Dolors Montserrat y Montserrat, the MEP. Luna is confident that "constitutional Catalanism will make its way to the PP because we are constitutionalists" and, ultimately, maintains that applying it would represent being faithful to the spirit of the Constitution and "respect for the uniqueness of languages and cultures and their use in each community." He sums it up in one sentence: "Josep Piqué told me that we needed a party that was part of the landscape of Catalonia, that people, whether they voted for it or not, would say they were from home." In any case, she emphasizes that it is important to "respect freedoms and not impose, because this leads to rejection," which she attributes to sanctions or the immersive education system. She believes it is necessary to promote Catalan with "attractive policies that generate enthusiasm in people."

For her part, Dolors Montserrat Culleré sees constitutional Catalanism as the present and the future. "I have always had my own way of being Catalanist and constitutional in the Parliament and in the party. I have always expressed myself in Catalan and have defended it, but I have also defended the common language, Spanish." She believes the way forward is "support for both languages without confrontation" and "enabling everyone to express themselves in their native language." That is why she advocates "promoting Catalan" but with a shift toward a bilingual education system. He does express displeasure on one issue: "Recently, I haven't liked the confrontation over language. There's always a need for respect, following the Constitution, and promoting coexistence between languages." After this stage of the Process, in which the PP and unionism in general relied primarily on Spanish, he argues that now "they apply constitutional Catalanism." "Not everyone speaks Spanish; there are many who speak Catalan." However, he does acknowledge that he "really likes" the regionalist spirit of the Galician or Balearic PP and that he felt "very good" with Piqué.

More Catalan in the Parliament, a pending issue.

Maintaining a unique profile has been a constant burden on the Catalan PP, something that Fernández reflects in his book In your underwear, where he points out the interventions of the state leadership to oust moderate Catalanist leaders like Piqué or hardliners like Alejo Vidal-Quadras. The future of the PP's Catalanist idea is uncertain: "We're trying, but it's difficult to implement," maintains a leader who would like to achieve "the conscience of a constitutional Catalanist party," as Feijóo claims he would like. Therefore, one of the ideas is to increase the public use of Catalan, now that he sees that the PP is beginning to do so in the Parliament, although "some speak in Spanish, thinking more of Madrid." The majority of the discussions are conducted in Spanish by prominent deputies like the leader, Alejandro Fernández; the spokesperson in the chamber, Juan Fernández Benítez; and other members like Lorena Roldán, Hugo Manchón, Cristiano Escribano, Manu Reyes, and Alberto Villagrasa, while the rest use Catalan.

Another source suggests that in the future it will be necessary to promote "Catalanism and defend the interests of Catalans," but without calling it Catalanism because it is considered an exhausted concept due to the Process. However, this source now admits that Catalonia is divided into two linguistic communities and that, in the short term, they cannot renounce Spanish, in addition to the reason for social media. On the other hand, another source believes that "constitutional Catalanism is something that, like so much in life, reaches an impasse." It does say that the Catalan leader has defended the "linguistic particularity of the Terres de l'Ebre, Lleida, and Girona" or Central Catalonia, with the predominance of the use of Catalan by the party, which contrasts with the predominance of Spanish in the metropolitan area.

Another voice close to Fernández's outlook, far removed from Catalanism, explains that "Catalonia is not the same as Galicia"—neither in the use of the language nor demographically—that Feijóo tried to "reproduce Galicianism," and that neither the party nor its grassroots are working. Fernández himself has defended being an "alternative" in the nationalist "landscape" and not blending into it. However, one key point highlighted by several pragmatic leaders is that everything will be different when Feijóo is president. With his position of strength, he could shape the party in Catalonia and foster a regionalist direction. Fernández's leadership is seen by some leaders as a "brake" on its success, but it is true that so far it has not been successful, and one source attributes this to the party's dependence on Madrid and the "profitability" of votes outside the Principality.