JxCat will abstain in second investiture vote

BarcelonaJunts per Catalunya (JxCat) will again opt for abstention in the second debate on the investiture of Pere Aragonès. According to several sources, the executive of the party has dealt with it this morning in a meeting with representatives of the parliamentary group, since, after the conversations with Esquerra Republicana (ERC) over the weekend, they have not yet closed an agreement. Even so, they do believe that "with more time" Aragonès's investiture will be agreed on.

In fact, this Monday morning, in an interview to El matí de Catalunya Ràdio, the ERC leader Sergi Sabrià, who is part of the negotiating team, had already admitted that he didn't think JxCat would be voting in favour of Aragonès. "Now we are not in a position to say that tomorrow he will be invested," he told Catalunya Ràdio, although he said that the negotiation has made "some progress".

Junts, during the investiture debate on Friday, already pointed out that it would not change its position in three days. The parliamentary party's president, Albert Batet, asked Aragonès to give up the second round to avoid another frustrated investiture. The Esquerra candidate, however, maintained that there was time and that it is all a matter of political will

One of the main obstacles so far is the formation of a strategic direction of the Independence bid. Junts wants it to be the Consell per la República, while Esquerra and the CUP have agreed to create a new entity in which the three pro-independence parties, the ANC and Òmnium are represented. This morning the Consell per la República issued a statement in which it is open to changes in order to push the negotiation forward, although it maintains that it must be this entity that decides on the strategy for the Independence bid. Junts sources believe that this can be the negotiation solver, although Esquerra and the CUP have yet to comment on the issue.

If this ends up being the solution, Esquerra and Junts will begin to enter in depth in the negotiation of the distribution of cabinet posts. The two parties also disagree on issues such as who should manage the European funds or who should lead the more social Departments such as Education and Health.