The shocks from the 2012-2016
period end with an unprecedented structure and a separation between the
presidency of the Generalitat and that of the party.
The Reus exhibition center
welcomed the sixteenth Convergència conference from March 23-25, 2012. A few
hours before it began, Oriol Pujol was seen happily walking onstage inside the
venue. "Today is my Saint's Day!", he announced to the reporters who
arrived at the capital of the Baix Camp county to attend the press conference
prior to the beginning of three days that ended with the inclusion of a new
state as a party goal. Indeed, 71% of the 2,000 delegates who attended the
conclave defended this option, and 91% said that they would vote in favor of
independence in a hypothetical referendum on the nation's political future.
Four years later, independence is unambiguously supported, and the Pujol
family, after the string of corruption cases associated with them, has
gradually vanished from the scene. These are the five aspects that have marked
the evolution of the nationalist initials --CDC has become the Catalan
Democratic Party by decision of the founding members of the party-- over the
past four years.
"Catalonia = nation + its
own state". This is, in summary, the formula that the delegates approved
in the Reus conference. The negotiations were led by Artur Mas, then president
of the Generalitat, together with Gerard Figueras, at that time Secretary
General of the Nationalist Youth of Catalonia (JNC, the youth branch of the
party) and, at present, Deputy Minister for Sport. Jordi Pujol himself attended
the key meeting that moved the issue forward, celebrated with applause when
attendees approved it. Four years later, the new CDC --now named the Catalan
Democratic Party (PDC)-- defines itself as "pro-independence",
supports an "independent state in the form of a republic"-- a formula
taken from the secessionist declaration of 9-N negotiated with the CUP-- and
does not rule out "unilateral" steps in case Spain blocks all routes
and the Generalitat exhausts all legal options.
Social Model
Social Model
From the cost of budget cuts to a more social
argument
The Reus conference caught
Convergència in the middle of a budgetary pact with the PP. Austerity had been
the house brand since Mas landed in the Generalitat, and so far it had not cost
them at the ballots. The municipal elections of May 2011 were the best in the
history of CiU-- with the Barcelona Mayor's office included-- and in the
Spanish elections in November of that year Josep A. Duran i Lleida scored an
unprecedented victory with 16 seats. A defense of the welfare state appeared in
the ideological platform, coordinated by Francesc Homs, which mixed social and
national policies, but the economic context allowed the leaders to argue for
government action that was viewed poorly by the more social-democratic sectors.
In this foundational conference, the talk is of "social centrism", of
promoting private activity without harming public services, and there is a call
for a welfare state "like the most advanced in Europe". "[We
defend] A country in which the education system, the health system, and social
protection and activities are the foundations that sustain a real equality of
opportunity".
Structure
Structure
From a classical leadership structure to a
reduced group with a dual presidency
The leadership that emerged in
2012 had an honorary president --Jordi Pujol--, a president --Artur Mas--, a
Secretary General --Oriol Pujol (Jordi Pujol’s son)—, a secretary of
organization --Josep Rull-- and two vice-secretary generals -- Lluís Corominas
and Francesc Homs. The national executive committee, in total, included 80
people. This structure will make way for a model in which there will be a dual presidency
"with interchangeable roles" -- Mas and Neus Munté -- and a General
Coordinator in charge of a team of twelve people who will be chosen for the
first time via primaries. In addition, it has adopted a code of
incompatibilities, which will prevent ministers from being a part of the
executive leadership and which stipulates that no more than two institutional
and party positions can be accumulated at the same time. On July 23 the new
leaders will be chosen, including the presidential tandem.
Names
Names
From Oriol Pujol to a new rejuvenated
leadership
The two salient names arising
from the 2012 conference were Oriol Pujol and Josep Rull, who in the end rose
to the party leadership with a huge responsibility-- that of Secretary of
Organization. The former was removed from political life after being charged in
the MOT case, and the latter is Catalonia’s Minister for Territory and
Sustainability after having taken over as General Coordinator when Pujol
stepped down, a year and a half after being indicted. In Reus, Munté rose to
Executive Secretary on a sectorial level, and four years later is on the verge
of becoming Vice-president of the PDC. Up-and-coming leaders such as Marta
Pascal, party spokesperson, and David Bonvehí, strong man in the central
region, will have influence in the future leadership and could lead a candidacy
if Jordi Turull does not renounce the position of General Coordinator. Mayors
such as Marc Solsona (Mollerussa), Marc Castells (Igualada), Albert Batet
(Valls), Albert Batalla (la Seu d'Urgell), independents such as Miquel Àngel
Escobar and Míriam Nogueras, or even liberals like Marc Guerrero have also been
rising in the party. And, obviously, one of the leading names is Carles
Puigdemont, President of the Generalitat, who four years ago was merely the
mayor of Girona city.
Presidents
Presidents
From leading player to shared billing
Jordi Pujol was in charge of
opening the Reus conference four years ago, delivering an emphatic address in
which he called for CDC to be the "shock troops" against attacks from
Madrid. Mas closed the conference by calling for support for a Catalan Treasury
in case the fiscal agreement did not come to fruition. In last weekend’s
foundational conclave, Pujol did not even attend, and Mas only made the opening
speech. Puigdemont was charged with closing the conference with a five-minute
speech in which he called on the PDC to act in service to the independence
movement. His predecessor will lead the new party, but is in the final stage of
his career. Puigdemont is on the path to becoming the presidential candidate.
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