ERC pulls out the referendum card after another embarrassment over special funding

ERC and Junts included the self-determination referendum in their agreements with PSOE and PSC, but in a very ambiguous way. The agreements essentially recognize the referendum as a viable mechanism for resolving the Catalan conflict. However, nowhere do they explicitly require holding a referendum.

It seems, then, that the separatist parties introduced this point not only to assert their unilateral approach, but also to cover themselves. They wanted to have a fallback in their strategy if everything else failed. There will always be the referendum…

Well, after months without discussing the issue, Esquerra surprised everyone this Tuesday by playing the referendum card during the question session for the President of the Generalitat.

Spokesperson Josep Maria Jové warned Illa that amnesty wouldn't be enough: "The investiture agreement literally stated that the amnesty law must allow for addressing Catalonia's national recognition and the way to institutionalize it."

Jové called on Illa to fulfill his agreements and asked him how he plans to make it effective. Before them, as soon as the Constitutional Court's ruling on the Amnesty Law became known, Junts essentially said the same thing: they reminded Sánchez that the next step is the self-determination referendum.

Erc loses more credibility

In Jové's speech, there is a clear intention to compete with Junts over demands made to the socialists. However, in his case, it is more jarring, because he made the statement just 24 hours after the deadline expired for PSC to present the unique financing proposal.

In other words, Esquerra is demanding the referendum without even having followed the timeline agreed with the socialists for unique financing.

By doing so, they lose credibility: if PSC fails to deliver on a clear and concrete commitment like this, how could they not do the same with something much more ambiguous like the referendum? That's not all. In some way, the republicans prove that the referendum, more than a real demand, is the fallback they turn to when everything else fails.

Junqueras gives psc more time

The clearest proof of all this was Salvador Illa's response. The President emphasized the importance of amnesty to solve the political conflict, but he didn't mention the referendum even once. Parliament's cameras captured Jové's dismayed face.

The reality beyond the narrative is very prosaic, and Oriol Junqueras himself admits that things won't move so quickly. He also acknowledges that he can't let either President Pedro Sánchez or Salvador Illa fall. So he has given PSC a bit more leeway, as they were supposed to present the proposal on June 30 and now have set July 14 as the new date.

Meanwhile, as Junts and ERC fight tooth and nail to get PSOE and PSC to keep their promises, separatist voters are abandoning ship. Polls show them receiving less and less support. The reason is precisely the loss of credibility due to things like this.