A "roadmap" goes beyond a government program, in relation to both objectives and strategies and pace and practical applications. However, when the time for a political process is compressed, clear parallels, consistencies, and juxtapositions appear between the two types of perspectives.
After the agreement between CiU and ERC, and before the challenges that the country will face in the coming months --before and after the next Catalan elections-- the establishment of programmatic priorities and the approval of the 2015 budget appear to be more than achievable challenges for these two parties. Nobody would understand if these became insurmountable obstacles. It’s important to avoid what Berkeley said that philosophers often do: first raise a dust, then complain that they can’t see.
The objectives that the institutions of the country, particularly the Catalan government, the Parliament, and the City Halls, with the support of political parties and social organizations, will have to confront in the coming months could be said to revolve around three blocks: 1) building the foundations of the new state, 2) the quality of democracy, and 3) a commitment to the welfare state.
1. The new state’s foundations. In a liberal democracy in which there is not, nor will there be, an agreement with the state allowing the citizens of Catalonia to decide their political future, the proclamation of independence --should the parties that support it obtain a majority of representatives in the next Parliamentary elections-- requires that there are structures in place that make independence viable and that guarantee the functioning of institutions and services that affect the daily lives of citizens. The list of these structures includes various specific areas, namely: security, an Internal Revenue Service, foreign policy, social security, a transition law for the constituent process, energy and water services, telecommunications, transportation, basic infrastructure (ports, airports, etc.), the judiciary, a central bank, regulatory agencies, and plans for distribution of assets and liabilities. There are reports on these matters produced by the National Transition Council (CATN). Politically, the government must prioritize decisions on these structures. The first five are key to the success of the endeavor.
2. The democratic quality. Some generic objectives for the future are: the development of the rights and freedoms of citizens, separation of powers, an effective judiciary, the inclusion of participatory procedures, autonomy of institutions from economic powers, measures in favor of transparency and against corruption and tax fraud. These are objectives that are sometimes juxtaposed but are not coincident. The indices of corruption and tax fraud in Spain are much higher than the European average, while the usual lack of separation of powers reflects an authoritarian conception of democracy.
3. The welfare state. This is a goal that I think can be easily agreed upon between the three parties in favor of independence --together with other parties, such as the PSC and ICV-EUiA. To strengthen and prioritize policies for health, education, pensions and social services is the basis of the platforms of all these parties. CiU’s as well. We must fight different types of poverty, the degree of inequality and social exclusion. Productivity, economic efficiency and social equity are not mutually exclusive or contradictory terms. And they form a part of the feasible broad-based system of political parties in Catalonia (unlike other European contexts).
The British have repeatedly noted the inevitability of political changes when constitutions and laws become outdated. David Hume said that about the "incomprehensible" legal situation that preceded the confrontation between the monarchy and Parliament in England in the mid-seventeenth century. Also the politician and historian T.B. Macaulay, in a parliamentary debate on constitutional reform (Reform Act, 1832) maintained that the cause of change is that while "nations move onward, constitutions stand still."
Catalonia is facing a decisive moment. We are facing an opportunity to create a country that is not only freer but also fairer, more democratic and with a clear future. We know that freedom is not only about its individual dimensions. There are also interactive dimensions that, in many cases, spring from unequal relations of power and dependence. Individual autonomy acts within a network of struggles for recognition that have cultural and social components. This recognition means that citizens must move inevitably from an individual morality to a collective ethic.
The political theory of complex democracies has been very much refined intellectually over the last twenty years. And the comparative policies of institutional and territorial models show clear conclusions on how to improve the quality of democracy. Catalonia has the knowledge needed to build a society and a democracy that are a lot better than the present ones in terms of efficiency, justice and freedom. The social and political elites favorable to the process must be intelligent enough, in the first place, to not mistake their enemies, and secondly, to establish a roadmap, a program of government and steps that mark clear and realistic lines of action. We must strengthen a social majority that has given ample evidence that it will not fail.
I am aware that this is not easy. Since Thucydides we have known that rational calculations are only one element of practical human situations. By themselves these calculations are not able to avoid the mistakes of the past. But when one starts from knowledge of the difficulties of the journey, one must be careful not to make more mistakes. It is more important not to make any big mistakes than to be always right. Nor is it necessary to explain everything all the time. Political leadership and time management will be key in the coming two years. We have entered a decisive period.
Ferran Requejo is a Professor of Political Science at Universitat Pompeu Fabra
