19.05.2014 - 18:04
“There are those who wish that we wouldn’t write, speak, or think in Catalan. They are the same people who wish we wouldn’t write, speak, or think.” With this quote from Ovidi Montllor, the lead candidate on ERC’s party list for the EU elections, Josep-Maria Terricabras, defined the attitude of the Spanish Government regarding the closure of one of Catalan Public TV’s multiplexers, which will result in the loss of Catalan Public TV channels. “The Spanish Government is determined to reduce the possibilities of the Catalan language and culture,” he said. “In Valencia, they receive Russian television but they can’t get Catalan TV3,” he commented, making it clear that he thinks the closure of Catalan TV channels is a terrible decision.
Terricabras also said he doesn’t believe that the May 25 elections will alter the parliamentary agreement between CiU and ERC, but doesn’t rule out an ‘intensification’ of the relationship before November 9th. “I don’t see it happening, but I can’t rule out that this relationship gets more intense before November 9, when I’m sure the thunder and lightning will be louder and brighter, and the political formations will want to be under the same umbrella,” he said Monday from the Fòrum Barcelona Tribuna. The matter will depend on the will of the president of the Catalan Government who would have to ‘invite’ the ERC to join the government, under ‘certain conditions’.
Without specifying if it is deal breaker, Terricabras, who is neither a card-carrying member of the ERC nor holds a position of leadership, completely ruled out a plebiscitary election as a substitute for the referendum, according to ERC’s electoral platform for the EU elections. The head of ERC’s list participated in the Fòrum Barcelona Tribuna organized by the Friends of the Country Economic Association, the Spanish Association of Business Leaders and La Vanguardia newspaper.
