News, February 2004

Catalan government crisis

27 January. The Catalan government is suddenly deep in crisis after Josep Lluís Carod Rovira, Conseller en Cap, or vice-president, admitted to secret meetings with ETA at the beginning of January.

The Catalan government is a coalition of Socialists (PSC-PSOE), the republican nationalist left (ERC) and ex-communist (EU-IC). Carod is leader of ERC, while the president is PSC's pascual Maragall. Last night, as the news of this meeting came out, national PSOE leader Zapatero asked Maragall to sack Carod, thus bringing the coalition into a full-blown crisis. The left-wing coalition came into existence after elections in November saw the end to the rule of the right-wing nationalist group Convergencia i Unió.

Carod admited meeting ETA representatives Josu Ternera and Mikel Antxa in Perpignan, France, on 3rd and 4th Jaunary. He has now resigned as Conseller en Cap (vice-president), but remains without portfolio in the cabinet.