June 25: Ciudadanos and the PP’s campaign for 27S will be the most plebiscitary of all

Mark my words. I mean that those who say out loud that the September 27 elections are not and cannot become a plebiscite are the ones who know and understand best that they are so, indeed; and they will approach them from that angle, with no qualms.

They will strive for their ballots to be chalked up, unequivocally, as No votes in the referendum on Catalan independence. There will be no ambiguity, no noise that detracts from their message. Theirs may actually be firmer and clearer than the message of some candidacies that ask for their ballots to be counted as Yes votes in the referendum.

In a nutshell, in their campaign ads and their rallies, the PP and Ciudadanos will not ask the public to vote for them so that they may govern Catalonia this way or that. Rather, they will ask people to vote for them in order to stop independence.

Their campaign may include all sorts of messages and mention all sorts of policies; but the conclusion of all of them will be that independence must be stopped in the ballot box, which is a totally plebiscitary slogan. Among other reasons, because the PP and Ciudadanos do not aim to govern Catalonia. Their goal is to prevent the Yes candidacies from obtaining an absolute majority in parliament. By combining the “No” candidacies, the “Not-just-yet” ones, and the ones that would rather we discussed something else.