A few hours after Francina Armengol’s proposal to allow all common official languages of the State to be spoken in Congress, it was enough to show that this was a highly combustible problem for the Valencian Community. The former Balearic president mentioned only “Catalan, Basque and Galician” in his rank; this caused the anger of the PP Council and Vox, who issued a corporate declaration to Valencia condemning a new ‘ninguneo’.
Given the turmoil that ensued, and to try to defuse a new language war, the leader of the Socialists, Ximo Puig, negotiated with Armengol the “Catalan-Valencian” dual sect. But the name persisted without convincing the rulers of Carlos Mazón and, more importantly, the Catalan independence formations that advocated not only the unity of the language but also its onomastics.
Faced with the possibility of thwarting a major attempt by the PSOE to take over the presidency of the institution, the socialist and republican negotiators agreed on a general formula by which they could succeed in guaranteeing the use of official languages, including Valencian. They also avoid confusing the identity hornet nest, at least a priori, by avoiding entering the denominations of each language. Potential offenses are also avoided in other languages that do not have official status, such as Asturian or Aragonese.
Specifically, the draft regulation amendment stipulates that “the speaker may speak in any of the languages that have official status in any autonomous community in accordance with the Constitution and the relevant Statute of Autonomy”.
Naming controversy
In other words, it covers the possibility of speaking any of the common official languages while also being limited to the naming discussion. It is also from Valencia, a term that includes the maximal law of the Valencian Community, and is therefore included in the definition.
They celebrated yesterday’s statement from the PSPV that proposed reforming the Chamber charter, which according to Socialist sources “protects Valencia” and “provides coverage” of any official language “without harming anyone”.
Realizing from the moment Armengol made his announcement that the socialist’s determination had “made clear” that the Valencian language could be used in Congress, and refraining from expanding the debate created by the criticisms of Consell, Compromis pointed out yesterday that the debate now needs to be reconsidered. Who uses this opportunity in Congress?
Coalition sources pointed out that only three deputies from the Valencia constituency of Compromís-Sumar spoke Valencian at the Cortes’ founding plenary session.
At Consell, the proposal was received much more coldly, although the new formula avoids condemnation of the phrase “ninguneo” in the corporate statement, as the Valencian language is equal to any official language included in the Statute of Autonomy of any region.
Presidential sources made their skepticism clear yesterday about the proposal. “As has been seen in recent years, any negotiation with the ERC on language issues cannot, in principle, be beneficial for the Valencian Community,” warned President Carlos Mazón’s entourage.
“Everything that Pedro Sánchez negotiated with Catalan separatists during these years and the silence of Ximo Puig and Compromís has damaged Catalonia,” he said, although they called for knowing the content of the arrangement before making a definitive assessment. Language and distinctive features of the Valencian Community”.
At the moment this is just a draft, but sources familiar with the talks in Madrid say it is the will of the parties to move forward as soon as possible. On the horizon is the idea of Pedro Sánchez being able to speak minority languages during the plenary session (this would not have happened in time if Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s candidacy had been successful).
Another important issue that needs to be clarified is when the use of official languages will be allowed. In the Senate, they have been allowed to be used since 2005, but only with motions of no confidence made through plenary sessions. Parliamentary sources implied that this point is clear, but that for now they are “looking into the mirror” of the upper house, implying that the use of Valencian and other official languages will be limited.