From Northern Catalonia to Sant Jordi: Salvador Illa's balance with the independence movement and Spanish nationalism

BarcelonaSalvador Illa took over this week Christopher Person, the current director general of the Generalitat in PerpignanThe dismissal, which the executive presented as a "personal" decision by Person himself, came after the controversy surrounding his refusal to speak about Northern Catalonia during his appearance before the Parliament. A position that angered the pro-independence groups, who demanded his dismissal. This has been the first fire with the independence movement that Isla has had to put out. But the president's balancing act with the independence movement has been a constant since taking over the reins of the Generalitat: he has been direct with the Catalan language—not without criticism from the pro-independence groups—but has left in standby Issues that seek to bring the political conflict back to the forefront.

This happened with the "National Convention for the Resolution of the Political Conflict" agreed upon between the PSC and ERC over the investiture of Salvador Illa, which was to be held as the "first plenary session of Parliament following the formation of the new government," according to the agreement. The president has repeatedly stated that he intends to comply with everything signed, but more than half a year has passed and there is no indication that this agreement will materialize in the short term. Socialist and Republican sources admit that everything remains on hold. Addressing this issue would mean reopening an issue that bothers the Socialists and that Salvador Illa has tried to bury since taking office. However, it is also true that pro-independence parties like Junts are unwilling to participate, because they do not see it as a way out of the political conflict. Esquerra agreed with the PSC that this body should address "the resolution of the political conflict" and present its "conclusions to Parliament," in addition to "monitoring the implementation of the amnesty law." Therefore, the executive branch should create an office to "ensure" all the human and material resources necessary for the convention to operate.

The Catalan language

The independence movement is also pressuring Isla regarding the language, while the Spanish nationalist movement is also trying to influence him in the opposite direction. While ERC, Junts, and the CUP (Cup) demand a firmer commitment to Catalan and turn up their noses every time the president speaks in Spanish (for example, in the Parliament or in a speech with state figures), the Spanish civil movement laments that the Socialist party has stopped demanding commitments such as the vehicular use of Spanish in schools. The point of agreement between the PSC and ERC on this matter was to create a Ministry of Language Policy, headed by former ERC official, Francesc Xavier Vila. To find consensus with the other political forces, they also agreed to sign a National Pact for the Language in the first 100 days of the legislature, with a budget of 200 million euros in the first year. It has not yet been achieved.

In fact, the government's desire to conclude a national language pact has many issues that could be derailed. The CUP (Coup d'Or) has dropped out, and Junts (Junts) says it will not sign anything with a president who "bows his head in the face of the violation of the rights of Catalan speakers" and who frequently uses Spanish in his speeches. Without giving up on joining Juntos, Salvador Illa has repeatedly reached out to the PP, but the PP doesn't want to hear about it. This would leave the Pact with only ERC, PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), and Comuns (Comuns) as signatories, and the government would not be able to claim it as a consensus agreement.

In parallel, and as measures to promote the social use of the language, the executive has already announced the implementation of from a channel entirely in Catalan on RTVE and proposes increasing the number of places in Catalan courses by 30,000 to address the shortage of offerings, with an investment of 8.8 million. To the extent possible (the responsibility lies with the State), it is also trying to push Catalan into Europe by clearing the way for official status: the Minister of the European Union and Foreign Affairs, Jaume Duch, met with the Polish ambassador, who holds the rotating presidency of the Consell (Consell), to try to intercede on behalf of everyone.

Next Sant Jordi

Isla's balance with the independence movement and the Spanish nationalist movement became evident at the very beginning of the term. The government scheduled all the events on the same day. a meeting with Òmnium and one with Societat Civil Catalana, a way to position itself in the middle and show an outstretched hand on both sides of the conflict. However, the executive's plan went down the drain when the cultural organization canceled the meeting, citing scheduling reasons, and requested a rescheduling. The juggling act will be repeated for Sant Jordi. The government has decided to promote the day throughout Spain and has, for example, placed a giant banner in Madrid displaying a small flag and the slogan "Dragon, book, rose" in Catalan and Spanish. The promotion has also been carried out in state media. On the eve of April 23, Salvador Illa will hold a discussion with the writer Javier Cercas, a strong critic of the independence movement and the amnesty.