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Former FC Barcelona’s President Joan Laporta proposes an inclusive Catalan pro-independence coalition

'Solidaritat Catalana' (Catalan Solidarity) is the name chosen for the common front, inspired by historic Catalan self-rule movement in early XX century · He calls on CiU, ERC, ICV, Reagrupament and CUP parties to join forces and encouraged the setting up of local committees backing a united list of pro-independence candidates.

Joan Laporta, together with ERC's former Member of Parliament Uriel Bertran and former CiU official Alfons López Tena, announced the setting up of a new pro-independence list named Solidaritat Catalana, where candidates with different background could join forces for the common cause of independence. Former Barça President and prominent ERC and CiU members held a press conference to call citizens and Catalan political parties "to unite into Catalan Solidarity for Independence" and run the forthcoming Catalan elections in a joint list. The list should be aimed at setting up an free independent Catalan state.

The promoters of the coalition took the precedent of the great coalition formed by pro-Catalan parties in 1907, which won a landslide election and inaugurated the political home rule movement. Laporta, Tena and Bertran said the Spanish Constitutional Court left Catalonia's self-government defunct, and added the path of autonomy within Spain is over and therefore Catalonia must set out to create its own free state within the European Union.

In order to achieve the 2 goals proposed -joint list and a pro-independence government-, the promoters encouraged citizens to organize local committees in support of Catalan Solidarity for Independence.

Carretero endorses the proposal, but ERC's decision depends on CiU's

Leader of Reagrupament Joan Carretero and spokesman for ERC Ignasi Llorente are the only politicians who responded the proposal. Carretero said he is prepared to participate. To that end, he will hold talks with Laporta, Tena and Bertran. He deems as an important progress that promoters ruled out the possibility of holding a referendum to declare independence, thus agreeing to his own road map consisting of a "unilateral declaration of independence in the Catalan Parliament".

Llorente said ERC would not consider coming aboard unless CiU joins the list. He said CiU is the largest pro-Catalan party and that it would be useless to back such a proposal if CiU does not enrolls in the project. CiU sources said they would refrain from considering the idea from the time being.

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