cdc

CDC fully denies the accusations. The judge investigating one of the major corruption scandals in Catalonia, the so-called ‘Palau’ case, has finished the four-year investigation and now the trial can start. The judge accuses Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) – the Liberal party within the governing Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition CiU – of having illicitly received €5.1 million from the construction company Ferrovial through donations made to Barcelona’s Palau de la Música concert hall. The judge believes the money was allegedly given in exchange for the allocation of public work contracts. The former treasurer of CDC and a former Catalan MP, as well as two managers of Ferrovial are accused. In addition, the judge will also bring to trial the main managers of the Palau de la Música, Fèlix Millet and Jordi Montull. Millet and Montull are also accused of having stolen €26 million from the cultural organisation.

After a four-year investigation, the Public Prosecution Office – which comes under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Ministry of Justice – is accusing Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC), the main force within the two-party coalition Convergència i Unió (CiU) which runs the Catalan Government, of having received €6.6 million in “illegal commission” from the construction company Ferrovial. CDC immediately denied the accusations, stating they have never received hidden money, not the party or its think-tank, the CatDem Foundation. In addition, they lamented the fact that the Public Prosecutor is basing the accusation “on speculations and mere conjecture” and that “it is not backed by any evidence”.

‘Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya’ (CDC), the Liberal force within the two-party Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition ‘Convergència i Unió’ (CiU), held its party congress over the weekend. For the first time in its history, CDC has claimed for Catalonia to have its “own state” in order “to avoid being erased off the map of cultures, languages, and world nations” as “Spain threatens Catalonia” and is no longer a “project that can be shared”. The current President of the Catalan Government and until last weekend the CDC Secretary General, Artur Mas, has now become the party Chairman. Oriol Pujol, son of the former Catalan president Jordi Pujol and Mas' close collaborator, has been elected the new Secretary General with 97.8% of the votes.

Francesc Homs is Artur Mas’ right-hand man in the CiU leadership and the director of the last elections’ programme. Homs is the CiU’s policy developer and now he will coordinate the new Catalan Government. Homs will continue being Mas’ closest collaborator. He will assist him in defining the Government’s main policies and he will push for action. In addition, he will directly control sensitive areas and will be the Government’s spokesperson.

The new Secretary of the Government was the party’s CFO and one of Artur Mas’ most trusted collaborators. As his duties were internal, Gordó was not a well-known figure. However, his role in the party was essential, as it will in the new Government. Gordó will remain somewhat in the shadows, as his new responsibility is to ensure the Government’s functionality. He will be in charge of preparing Government meetings and ensuring that decisions are implemented. He will also directly manage some concrete services, such as the Government’s offices across Catalonia and abroad.

The new Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability was the former Mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès, a middle-to-upper class residential city next to Barcelona. Recoder represents the most social-democratic and least identity-centred sensibility in the Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC), the Liberal wing of the two-party Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU). Recoder’s Ministry changes its name and increases its mandate.

Despite the International Court of Justice's decision, the Spanish Government decided not to recognise Kosovo as an independent state. Both the Spanish Government and Catalan nationalists see implicit parallelisms in both cases, although Madrid denies it.