Iñigo Urkullu has unquestionable prestige among his colleagues, and this explains, from the beginning, why his proposal for an “interpretation” of the Constitution, a covert reform of the text to differentiate Euskadi-Catalonia-Galicia of the rest, he did not receive a general censure. Urkullu also has the gift of political opportunity, since he launches his initiative when the PSOE expects the PNV’s yes and the PP aspires to the same, even if it is a chimera in his case. That shortened the criticism in popular baronies, so as not to clash with Genoa. And finally, Urkullu has the gift of opportunity (without adjectives), since various counterparts, due to financing needs or taifa ambition, are encouraged to address any territorial reform. But apart from calculations and words in public, the president It has put all the autonomies on alert.
Urkullu’s “plurinational” proposal, an offer and a path for Pedro Sánchez in his negotiation with the Catalan independence movement as well as a requirement to deliver the PNV votes at the investiture, part of the condemnation of “coffee for all”, that way of referring to the supposed equality between the 17 autonomies. And, faced with this reality, it aspires to a distinction between “those that had a self-government model prior to the 1978 Constitution”, that is, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, those that already reached the rank of autonomy in the Second Republic. That mention excludes Andalusiawhich certified that same condition for itself in its first Statute of Autonomy (1981).
And for this reason, the first shock of the Urkullu plan, developed in an article in El País, was felt by President Juanma Moreno, who claimed: «Andalusia conquered its autonomy in the same way as the rest of the historical communities and that must be respected . It is good to talk to advance in self-government, as Urkullu proposes, but without relegating anyone and always within the Constitution.
He president awaits the “recognition of the plurinationality of the State, bilaterality or the ability to decide by agreement”, in a reformulation of the right to decide patented in Catalonia as a euphemism for the right to self-determination. That is to say, it proposes modifications in such substantial bases of the Constitution that they enjoy special protection. The new “interpretation” that Urkullu proposes affects “national sovereignty” or the “indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation” (Preliminary Title of the Constitution), that is, it would be framed in article 168: “1. When the total revision of the Constitution or a partial one that affects the preliminary Title, the Second Chapter, First Section of Title I, or Title II is proposed, the principle will be approved by a two-thirds majority of each House, and the immediate dissolution of the Cortes. 2. The elected Chambers must ratify the decision and proceed to study the new constitutional text, which must be approved by a two-thirds majority of both Chambers. 3. Once the reform is approved by the Cortes, it will be submitted to a referendum for its ratification”. The result of 23-J, with the absolute majority of the PP in the Senate and the 137 popular in Congress (40% of the total, to which should be added the 33 seats for Vox, almost another 10%), does not allow a reform in accordance with the Constitution, therefore, the president raises a covert reform, «a constitutional convention», taking as an excuse the first additional provision: «The Constitution protects and respects the historical rights of the foral territories. The update of said regional regime will be carried out, where appropriate, within the framework of the Constitution and the Statutes.
Urkullu, in reality, with his “agreed ability to decide”, opens the door to referendums, an issue that the PP did not address in depth from Genoa. The General Coordinator, Elias Bendodoon Onda Cero, limited himself to stating that they “understand” the proposal of the president to organize a constitutional conference, but he assured that his formation has “limits” that “they will never overcome.” Shortly after, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, without referring to Urkullu, did slip: «We are open to listening to what is said to us from anywhere in spain. We will pay attention to all those who want to ask us things that benefiting a part of Spain in the end benefit the whole of Spain.