The leader of Demòcrates de Catalunya, Antoni Castellà, has just proposed a round table of pro-independence parties and bodies to define the road map for this legislature. Castellà's party has only got two deputies in the Parliament and stood for the 21st December election as part of the candidacy headed by Esquerra's president, Oriol Junqueras. Although there's room to think that his proposal, like any from any political party, is self-interested, since it would give Demòcrates a greater political importance than they have currently, in light of how things have unfolded over the last few months in the Parliament, it's an idea to consider.
The 70 deputies from the 21st December split between the Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), Esquerra (ERC) and CUP candidacies are not only not a homogeneous bloc with their understandable quirks, they're further from each other than ever. CUP was the first party to announce, in the very debate to invest president Quim Torra, that they were going into opposition. And over these months, relations between JxCat and ERC have been everything but good. All this has affected the parties and parliamentary caucuses. How long until it makes the jump to the government? Or, even, until the Catalan executive's positions are irreconcilable. Can and should ANC and Òmnium regain their leading roles from the previous legislature?
The political year to start in a few weeks will have enough tension to quickly see that the independence movement will being making a grave mistake if it takes it on without being united and without saying openly everything being said in hushed voices or around the dining table this atypical summer.
The exiles and the prisoners have made an enormous sacrifice. We can never forget the coup d'etat by those who, brandishing the Constitution, swept aside the Catalan institutions. The new leaders of Catalan politics have to agree on their strategies, what the shared project is and how they are going to be loyal to the mandate from last year's referendum and election.