If Carles Puigdemont’s arrest coincides with the investiture debate of Salvador Illa next Thursday, the plenary session must be suspended. This is what Junts is demanding, which is trying to use the return of its leader as a last resort against Illa’s presidency. But PSC, ERC and Comuns have also assumed that, depending on how events unfold around the former president, there may be no other option but to postpone the investiture session for another day.
That does not mean that the parties that have agreed to Illa’s investiture agree with Junts’ claim that this suspension be without theOn the contrary, the three partners have explored in the last few hours the possible ways they would have to assert their majority and force the plenary session to resume at an early date in order to complete the investiture.
The key lies in the Permanent Deputation, the body that governs the House in periods between sessions, such as the current one, and where PSC, ERC and Comuns have a majority. This body limits the discretion that the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, could have to suspend the plenary session and not call it again, since the Permanent Deputation would have the power to set a new investiture debate.
Uncertain script in the Parliament
The script that the parties are working with is very open, as are the options that Carles Puigdemont has and all the possible ones derived from an arrest. And the same occurs with the regulations of the Chamber, which do not establish maximum times for an absolutely extraordinary suspension.
However, the groups are working on some certainties. The first is that, if the leader of Junts were arrested in the hours immediately prior to the investiture debate, the plenary session could not be held normally until the future of a deputy who is not only a member of the Chamber, but also the leader of the opposition is known.
The second idea they are working on is the convenience of suspending the plenary session with a date already decided to resume it. It could be in 48 hours, that is, on Saturday, or wait until the first days of next week. In any case, it would be enough time to find out what the Supreme Court has decided regarding Puigdemont and, if he cannot attend the plenary session because he is in provisional prison, so that the leader of Junts would have time to delegate his vote, if he so wishes and in accordance with the regulations.
Sources from the parties that will vote ‘yes’ to Illa explain that their desire is to take all the steps with the greatest possible consensus. “It is about understanding that the situation is complicated for everyone and being flexible,” they explain. The socialists look towards Junts but, above all, towards ERC, a party that they understand is under maximum pressure from Puigdemont and that could be the most questioned for refusing to suspend the plenary session.
Although the slogan is consensus and flexibility, the red line that cannot be crossed for PSC, ERC and Comuns is that, whatever Puigdemont’s situation, that cannot be used as an argument for not calling the plenary session again and letting the calendar run until August 26, when new elections are automatically called. “I trust that no one is thinking about that, but we are not going to allow it either,” say these same sources.
A reversible suspension
One option is that ultimately maximum consensus is impossible and Junts, taking advantage of its control of the presidency of the Parliament, refuses to call the investiture again. This is where the majority that PSC, ERC and Comuns have in the Permanent Deputation would come in. The president must call this body at the request of two groups and the plenary session is set by majority. Therefore, those in favour of Illa believe they have the upper hand in the event of a possible suspension on Thursday.
The new calendar is uncertain, but no one wants to delay it beyond the August bank holiday, among other reasons because the Permanent Deputation would cease to have the role it currently has and everything would depend on the President of the Parliament, the Bureau and the Board of Spokespersons.
Furthermore, Carles Puigdemont’s situation should not take more than a few hours, at most a couple of days to be clarified. Whether the Supreme Court decides to serve him a summons and release him, or if it decides to order preventive detention, the leader of Junts could be in this new situation for several weeks, so it would not make sense to wait more than a few days to resume the plenary session.
Source: www.eldiario.es
