The official visit to Flanders this weekend by the president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, has set off alarm bells in both the PP and the State leadership. So much so, that some are falling over themselves to stress that no high-ranking community official wanted to receive him. In that vein, the leader of the Catalan PP (PPC), Xavier Garcia Albiol, rebuked him on Wednesday in the parliamentary session, which incensed Puigdemont. “I did not ask for any meetings. Are you asking whether I will? Yes. And then they will receive me. Because do you know who Juncker received last week? The prime minister of Kosovo! And do you know why mister Mustafa is the prime minister of Kosovo? He is so after a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.”
Puigdemont was referring to the official meeting that Isa Mustafa had on April 27 with the president of the European Commission (EC), the conservative Jean-Claude Juncker, which was also attended by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.
At a time when some in the independence movement are unclear about which road map to follow from here on, and when voices can be heard defending the idea of a new referendum like 9-N -but one that is binding- Puigdemont did not hesitate in pointing to the example of Kosovo’s independence. A clear message.
Albiol was stupefied by the response. “Let us remember the things that took place there at the beginning of the 1990s,” he replied, making reference to the Balkan War. And, attempting to steer the conversation, he tried to go back to the idea that the visit by the Catalan leader “was a failure”.
Puigdemont, widely applauded by the JxSí MPs, said ironically: “When I send a letter asking for a meeting, do not worry, I will make you a copy. Right now there isn’t one.” He continued by insisting that when Catalonia acts in favour of independence, “those most interested” in meeting him will be from the EU. And, responding to the accusation of making a fool of himself, he said: “Who is making a fool of himself when Spanish politics has to withdraw its ambassador to Belgium for being idle and abusing his authority? Is that the model of diplomacy you are recommending to us? Who is making a fool of himself when a false response is sent to the EC? Who is making a fool of himself when the European Commission is considering something it never considered for Greece, which is to fine the Spanish State for its incompetence in complying with the deficit and the objectives set? That is making a fool of yourself in front of the world!” The PP MPs, despite their gesticulations, did not know even how to respond.
#president @KRLS: “La Comissió Europea està preocupada pels incompliments Estat espanyol. Això és fer el ridícul”.https://t.co/MN4a470gBk
— Junts pel Sí (@JuntsPelSi) 4 de maig de 2016
