Reagrupament Will Propose Unilateral Declaration of Independence

So said Carretero in the general assembly that is being held today to approve the board and the strategic plan, with sights on the 2010 elections. Carretero added that independence is within reach and he described the Estatut [Statute of Autonomy] as 'miserable'

In the general assembly of members of Reagrupament that begins today in Barcelona, Joan Carretero made his bet for a unilateral declaration of independence. Carretero added that independence is "the only decision that we don't need to ask permission to make' and that it is within Catalans' reach. He also said the estatut de Catalunya [Catalonia's Statute of Autonomy] was 'miserable'. Carretero has the numbers to be elected president. You can follow the assembly live.

In the assembly, the Strategic Plan will be approved, and the members of the board will be selected, who will choose the president. The president of F.C. Barcelona, Joan Laporta, in the end did not attend the assembly, even though he was invited. Laporta expressed his affinity with the group led by Carretero. Other familiar faces that have indeed attended the assembly are the writer Isabel-Clara Simó, journalist Miquel Calçada, sociologist Salvador Cardús and the legendary leader of ERC, Heribert Barrera.

Reagrupament's strategic foundations, with a look to the 2010 elections, are working for a democratic regeneration and the unilateral declaration of independence by Parliament. The declaration should be able to be proclaimed with a majority of members who support it in the Parliament, in fact Carretero has said that his objective is that Reagrupament win an absolute majority in the elections. If that didn't happen, he would not accept being a part of a coalition government and he would work during the legislative session for 'democratic regeneration'. This 'regeneration', which is another of the basic objectives in the plan, means that the terms and leadership positions would be limited, salaries would be made public, an electoral system with open lists would be established and public spending would be controlled.

After the approval of the strategic plan, the members will choose the board of Reagrupament, which will then meet to choose the president. It's probable that the leaders in this first board are, in addition to Carretero, Rut Carandell and Jaume Renyer, both former members of Esquerra.

In fact, within Reagrupament, there are both ex-members of Esquerra as well as people from Convergència and other parties and sovereigntist groups. After the congress, Reagrupament will hold primaries in order to decide on the lists that will be presented for the elections to Parliament.

Originally published in VilaWeb 3/Oct/09, 06:00h