agreed an alliance on Tuesday that aims to pave the way for a
referendum in 2014 on secession, a vote Madrid has said is illegal. A
prolonged recession and record unemployment have fuelled separatist
sentiment in a region that is among Spain's wealthiest, adding to
uncertainty for investors concerned that Spain cannot control its
finances and may need international aid.
The centre-right Convergence and Union, or CiU, lost 12 seats in an
election last month, leaving it with only a slim relative majority in
the Catalan parliament. CiU leader Artur Mas, who headed the outgoing
government, said he would need a political alliance to govern. The
pact on Tuesday between the right-leaning CiU and the Republican Left,
or ERC, two parties usually at ideological loggerheads, fell short of
a full coalition.
"There is total agreement on the referendum. There will be a
referendum in 2014, unless both parties agree to delay it," ERC head
Oriol Junqueras said on Tuesday. The parties said they would attempt
to convince Madrid to give its blessing to the referendum, but
suggested that they would go ahead whether it did so or not. Almost
two-thirds of the seats in parliament are held by parties that want a
plebiscite.
Mas had called the early election in an attempt to ride a wave of
separatist sentiment after hundreds of thousands demonstrated in
favour of independence in September. The plan backfired on him as many
voters turned away from the CiU, which had never previously flown the
independence flag, towards smaller parties that had long advocated
separation for Catalonia, which has its own distinct language and
culture.
A source involved in the talks told Reuters the pact between the CiU
and the ERC would give stability to the Catalan government and had two
goals: passing the budget and approving the referendum. The ERC
increased its number of seats in parliament to 21 from 10.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/catalan-parties-agree-pact-with-eye-on-2014-secession-vote/
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