The separatist government in Barcelona only lasted a good year and a half.

After a heated argument about the path to Catalan independence, the Junts party (JxCat) of the fugitive Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont left the coalition: Instead of wrestling with the central government in Madrid, Junts and the ERC party of regional President Pere Aragonès had fought bitterly.

He now wants to continue to govern alone with changing majorities – as the ERC last did in the early 1930s.

Hans Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb based in Madrid.

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His previous partners in the opposition immediately went on the attack, denied him any “democratic legitimacy” and demanded new elections.

Puigdemont praised the vote and the result.

Almost two weeks ago, Junts had escalated the escalation and threatened to ask Aragonès a vote of confidence in the regional parliament;

From the party's point of view, he did not campaign decisively enough for self-determination.

Aragonès then sacked regional deputy president Jordi Puigneró, who is affiliated with Junts.

His party let the members decide whether they would remain in government: 55 percent were against it.

The first challenge is already up

As soon as the result was known, Aragonès received a surprising offer of help from Madrid.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered his support to the moderate separatist.

That wasn't entirely selfless.

His left-wing minority government urgently needs the votes of the ERC once again in the national parliament in order to pass the state budget.

The Catalan Socialists had won more votes than Aragonès' ERC in the February 2021 regional elections.

Because of the right to vote both received 33 mandates;

the absolute majority is 68 seats.

Together with the eight deputies of the party of the mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau it could be enough.

En Comú Podem is also ready to help.

The first challenge is already coming up next week, Aragonès has to get his budget on track,

For Junts, it was more important to show an ideologically clear edge in the face of inflation and rising energy prices.

The party pays a high price for leaving.

Not only is she losing her six ministers in the regional government;

more than 250 government employees also have to go and Junts no longer has access to budget funds.

The timing is politically unfavorable.

Local elections are due next May, and the Spanish parliamentary elections at the end of the year.

Junts must contest the election campaigns from the opposition.

The member survey showed how divided the party is within its own ranks, with 42 percent opposed to giving up the coalition.

Junts has two wings: the protagonists of the victorious radical faction are Puigdemont and the previous speaker of Parliament Laura Borràs, who had to give up her post because of a court case.

This camp sees Junts as a "national liberation movement" that must seek confrontation with Madrid.

Aragonès, on the other hand, rejects unilateral actions and sits with Sánchez at the new "dialogue table".

Junior partner for the first time

Junts finds himself in a whole new situation.

Even their predecessor parties were always politically number one.

She shaped Jordi Pujol for almost a quarter of a century.

Until 2003 he was at the head of the regional government with his Convergència party.

In Madrid he made pacts with socialists and conservatives.

For more autonomy and taxpayers' money, he helped them achieve majorities.

In 2010, Junts' predecessor party CiU received more than 38 percent of the votes and 62 mandates, in 2021 it was only a good 20 percent and 32 MPs.

A year ago, Junts became a junior partner for the first time and couldn't handle it from the start.

The coalition negotiations lasted months and threatened to fail.

It was also about the role of Puigdemont.

Junts wanted the "Council of the Republic" in Brussels, which he led - an association funded by donations - to be responsible for all issues affecting Catalonia's independence, which Aragonès refused.

"From Brussels, Puigdemont was now the driving force behind the vote to leave the government, with Laura Borràs as his most efficient propagandist," wrote columnist Enric Juliana in La Vanguardia over the weekend.

Puigdemont and his supporters were already looking ahead.

They are convinced that the conservative People's Party (PP) and the right-wing populist Vox party will win the Spanish parliamentary elections in 2021 and "rekindle the fuse of the Catalonia conflict".