The Galician who no longer hides his Catalan identity in Europe

BarcelonaThis Tuesday is a date surrounded by Catalan in the European Union because, despite the fact that it has been on the table for over a year and a half—due to the Junts-PSOE investiture pact—a few weeks ago Spain began to really increase the pressure to make it official. This is what it says. diplomatic sources from various EU states report, who will still be going into the meeting with many misgivings. There is widespread resistance, to the point that it's possible that Catalan could be shelved again until the end of June or as early as September, when the European Union budget is due to be debated and Spain will have a new negotiating lever. There are two reasons for the other states' misgivings: on the one hand, there are the Baltic countries, which, with their Russian-speaking minorities, fear that these communities will plot a movement to imitate, if necessary, the official status of Catalan, Galician, and Basque; and, on the other hand, there are the PP's tentacles in Europe, which it uses to prevent languages belonging to the Spanish state from having greater protection.

The Catalan PP has admitted it.Alberto Núñez Feijóo has been making calls to counter the Spanish government's pressure in favor of Catalan. The PP has leveraged its good relationship with the European People's Party, through Manfred Weber's deputy, the Catalan Dolors Montserrat, to persuade their governments throughout the EU to take a stand against it. They have even reportedly asked Vox to replicate the same strategy with governments more inclined to the far right, such as Viktor Orbán's in Hungary or Giorgia Meloni's in Italy.

The PP believes that plotting against Catalan, Galician, and Basque does not generate any electoral costs in Spain. The great paradox is that this is happening with a Catalan, Dolors Montserrat, in a preeminent position in the European People's Party, and a Galician, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leading the PP across Spain. Now that the PP is facing its congress and the hardliners and the more moderate wing will face each other, it seems the pendulum is swinging back toward Madrid. The Feijóo who, shortly after taking over the Génova leadership, landed at the Círculo de Economía conference is a distant memory. with the promise of seducing Catalonia.

Weaken Pedro Sánchez?

The PP has always had a hostile attitude toward cultural, linguistic, and national demands within the state (unlike the PSOE of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Pedro Sánchez). In fact, its attitude toward this Tuesday's debate is the same as Aleix Vidal-Quadras's when, in 2006, the debate over authorizing the use of Catalan in the European Parliament was discussed. At that time, the PP tipped the balance against it. The PP has only had a different attitude at certain times (the Majestic Pact) and due to very specific personalities: Josep Piqué leading the PP in Catalonia or Santi Fisas in the same European Parliament defending Catalan as an official language.

In any case, in this Tuesday's vote, the PP is not only weighed down by its DNA in favor of a uniform Spain, but it also sees an opportunity to weaken Pedro Sánchez. The failure of Catalan in the European Union is not conducive to the stability of the Spanish government, which depends on Junts and has made this issue paramount to continue propping up the Moncloa government. However, with such blatant opposition to the official status of Catalan, Feijóo also gives Pedro Sánchez arguments to justify himself to his partners: if he fails, he can claim it was due to undisguised pressure from the PP and Vox, and that whoever does what they can is not obliged, as they say.