The negotiations to form a new pro-independence Catalan government, this time led by ERC's Pere Aragonès, are progressing, little by little. In Madrid, the Spanish government already got used to the idea, even on election night itself, that the same government formula would be repeated in Catalonia as before, but altering the order of the two factors: ERC before Junts, this time. What worries the Moncloa palace right now, in terms of the Catalan post-election scenario, is something else: the alleged movement by ERC towards the policies of the CUP, especially in terms of law and order. The role of Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra police in the freedom of expression protests has been the focus of the left-wing, pro-independence CUP.
Sources in the Spanish government note that "meetings are taking place" ahead of the investiture, but the Pedro Sánchez executive has assumed that the existing independence alliance will be repeated, with Aragonès as the new Catalan president. However, these same sources assert that what now "worries" them are "the demands of the CUP, which seem to be drawing ERC into a trap, in the middle of the negotiations."
The starting conditions of the CUP in the negotiations with ERC have been focused, especially, on the role of the Mossos d'Esquadra. Among other matters, the anti-capitalist party has called for a moratorium on the use of foam projectiles by police, removing the Brimo riot squad from home evictions and the withdrawal of the Catalan government from cases against pro-independence activists. ERC national spokeswoman Marta Vilalta has clarified that first of all they will analyze whether these requests are viable or not.
Better with the CUP
Today it was ERC's Sergi Sabrià who admitted that the talks with the CUP are progressing "better" than those with Junts. In an interview with Ràdio 4 and TVE, the ERC spokesperson let it be known that negotiations with Carles Puigdemont's party are still at the stage of the roadmap, which has prevented progress in other areas. That is why he has publicly urged Junts to present an alternative to the dialogue table with the Spanish state, if they really have one. "In the negotiations with the CUP we have gone deeper, with Junts it is proving more difficult," said Sabrià in this regard. For now, he concluded, ERC is "very excited" and "happy" with how the talks with the left-wing party are going.