A resounding crack has today appeared in the unity of the independence movement which, with greater or lesser effectiveness, had shielded it over the last few months. The decision by the Parliament's speaker, Roger Torrent, to postpone the investiture debate for president Carles Puigdemont has caused enormous anger among Junts per Catalunya, the party not having been alerted to the decision before it was announced, and among CUP, who immediately called for the debate to be convened out of "loyalty".
JuntsxCat deputies left the Parliament building yesterday evening convinced they had reached an agreement to make today's investiture possible. Similarly, CUP, who had centred their demands on procedural points, counted on the vote taking place this afternoon
When, at 9:30am, the speaker announced he would make a statement to the press, neither of the two parties knew what he planned to announce. That included the Junts per Catalunya deputies on the Parliament's Board. The only news they had from Torrent was that the normal meeting held between the two largest pro-independence parties half an hour before the Board meeting had been cancelled.
Nor was Puigdemont, the candidate himself, aware of the decision. ERC sources say that Torrent tried to contact him before making the announcement but the president didn't pick up his phone as he hadn't got the speaker's number saved and didn't know who was calling.
From that moment on, criticisms started flying around the corridors of the Parliament and from the lectern in the press room. Whilst JuntsxCat complained they hadn't been told of the plan to postpone the debate, ERC showed themselves to be hurt by the letter Puigdemont had sent to Torrent the day before calling on him to take the necessary measures to make the investiture possible.
After months of contention over different strategies, and certain unrest hanging over from the election campaign, today the differences have become more evident. Opposition parties, meanwhile, seem satisfied with the situation.