| Revision as of 18:45, 23 May 2014 edit84.120.250.86 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:36, 25 May 2014 edit undoWalter Sobchak0 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users835 edits Undid revision 609845409 by 84.120.250.86 (talk)Next edit → | ||
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| |ideology = ],<ref></ref><br>],<ref name=AC>{{cite book |last1=Fernàndez |first1=Josep-Anton |title=El malestar en la cultura catalana: La cultura de la normalització 1976–1999 |url=http://books.google.es/books?id=e8YWnBr59joC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=ciutadans+anticatalanisme&source=bl&ots=tlDdIBKuIQ&sig=JNa1JCM4Mt4J5ffoq19o-GOZ8jk&hl=ca&sa=X&ei=oE9KUO-UKsW00QX-xIHgAQ&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=ciutadans%20anticatalanisme&f=false |publisher=Editorial Empúries |date=2008 |pages=148 |isbn=8497873416}}</ref><br>Liberalism,<br>],<br>],<ref>{{es}} – ''Europa Press''</ref><br>],<br>]<ref>http://www.ciudadanos-cs.org/jsp/publico/conocenos/ideario.do</ref><br>]<ref name="nordsieck">{{cite web|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/catalonia.html|title=Parties and Elections in Europe, "Catalonia", The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck|publisher=parties-and-elections.eu|date=|accessdate=May 19, 2013}}</ref> |
|ideology = ],<ref></ref><br>],<br>],<ref name=AC>{{cite book |last1=Fernàndez |first1=Josep-Anton |title=El malestar en la cultura catalana: La cultura de la normalització 1976–1999 |url=http://books.google.es/books?id=e8YWnBr59joC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=ciutadans+anticatalanisme&source=bl&ots=tlDdIBKuIQ&sig=JNa1JCM4Mt4J5ffoq19o-GOZ8jk&hl=ca&sa=X&ei=oE9KUO-UKsW00QX-xIHgAQ&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=ciutadans%20anticatalanisme&f=false |publisher=Editorial Empúries |date=2008 |pages=148 |isbn=8497873416}}</ref><br>Liberalism,<br>],<br>],<ref>{{es}} – ''Europa Press''</ref><br>],<br>]<ref>http://www.ciudadanos-cs.org/jsp/publico/conocenos/ideario.do</ref><br>]<ref name="nordsieck">{{cite web|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/catalonia.html|title=Parties and Elections in Europe, "Catalonia", The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck|publisher=parties-and-elections.eu|date=|accessdate=May 19, 2013}}</ref> | ||
| |position = |
|position = Centre-left{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} | ||
| |international = ''None'' | |international = ''None'' | ||
| |european = | |european = | ||
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Revision as of 14:36, 25 May 2014
Political party in Spain
| Citizens – Party of the Citizenry Ciudadanos – Partido de la Ciudadanía | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Albert Rivera |
| Secretary-General | Matías Alonso Ruiz |
| Founded | June 7, 2005 (CC) March 4, 2006 (C's) |
| Headquarters | Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 751 A, 1º 2ª 08013 Barcelona |
| Youth wing | Agrupación de Jóvenes de Ciudadanos – J's |
| Ideology | Lerrouxism, Spanish nationalism, Anti-Catalanism, Liberalism, Laicism, Autonomism, Secular humanism, European Federalism Social liberalism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| European Parliament group | Currently no MEPs |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Orange and White |
| Parliament of Catalonia | 9 / 135 |
| Local Government | 7 / 9,137 |
| Website | |
| www.ciudadanos-cs.org | |
The Citizens – Party of the Citizenry (Template:Lang-es, official name used nationwide; Template:Lang-ca, used co-officially with former in Catalonia; short acronym C's) is an ad-hoc syncrectic Spanish political party whose platform is almost uniquely centered on its opposition to Catalan nationalism in all its forms, be it independentism or its more moderate incarnation led (at least until 2012) by CiU.
History
Ciutadans was formed in Catalonia in July 2006 in response to the call made in a manifesto by a group of Catalan personalities (among them Albert Boadella, Félix de Azúa and Arcadi Espada), in which they called for a new political force to "address the real problems faced by the general public". In this manifesto, they also warned that "the rhetoric of hatred promulgated by official Catalan government media against everything 'Spanish' is more alarming than ever" and that "the (Catalan) nation, postulated as an homogenous entity, has taken occupation of the space where an undeniably diverse society lives".
This group of personalities, almost entirely based in Barcelona, formed a political platform called Ciutadans de Catalunya, or Citizens of Catalonia, in July 2005. They organized several round tables and conferences and by 2006 they had announced the formation of a new political party, called simply Ciutadans, or Citizens. In the first congress of 2006, a young lawyer from Barcelona, Albert Rivera, was elected its president.
In the Catalan elections of 2012, the party gained 7.6% of the vote (274,925 votes) and won nine seats in the Catalan Parliament; all but one of them were elected in the Province of Barcelona.
In 2013, the party started its activity also in the rest of Spain with a manifesto called "La conjura de Goya" (The confederacy of Goya) that took place in the Congress Palace of Madrid.
Program and ideological background
C's describes itself as "centre-left", even though its only source of unabashed support in the mainstream media is the conservative news portal Libertad Digital and it has consistently shunned all parties to the left of and including the Social Democratic PSC on account of what it perceives as their catering to Catalan nationalism. It also styles itself as "anti-nationalist", although it has never (as of May 2014) criticized manifestations of Spanish nationalism and some of its mentors, notably Albert Boadella, are avid fans of bullfighting, for instance—in this respect, it differs from the broader UPyD in that the latter does oppose such symbols and regalia regardless of their nationality. It is almost exclusively active in Catalonia, where it has nine deputies in the Catalan Parliament. The leader of the party, a former member of the right-wing Partido Popular, uses the phrase: "Catalonia is my homeland, Spain is my country and the European Union is our future" to outline the party's ideology.
C's is mostly considered a liberal party in economic policies and a third-way party on social issues, but both aspects are overshadowed by its ideological leitmotiv which is opposition to Catalan nationalism, to the extent that it has been frequently criticized for being a single issue party, a label rejected by its members. In the period 2006–2012, the number of C's voters who had voted for right-of-center parties in previous elections was similar to the number who had previously voted for left-of-center parties, suggesting that the party's positions on general economic and social issues are not its main draw.
One of the main issues raised by the party is the Catalan language policy, which actively promotes the use of Catalan language as the only working language of the Catalonian public administration The party challenges this policy and defends equal treatment of Spanish and Catalan. It also opposes the language policy within the Catalan school system, according to which all public education is carried out in Catalan trying to preserve the Catalan language.
The party also supports strengthening the powers of the Spanish central institutions and curtailing the powers of regional administrations.
Other topics include a thorough reform of the Spanish electoral system in the sense of a greater proportionality that would give less weight single constituencies, which benefits bipartisanship at national level and peripheral nationalism at regional elections. They also support some changes in the Spanish constitution, especially regarding the regional organization. Among other policies, they propose the complete abolition of the fiscal autonomy for the Basque Country. They also support a regulation of prostitution, marijuana and euthanasia.
Support, membership and organization
C's is a political force only at the regional level. In the national elections of 2008, it gained only 0.18% of the Spanish votes: in Catalonia, its support was somewhat higher – 0.74% of votes – but significantly smaller compared to the percentages obtained in the Catalan regional elections of 2006 (3.04%) and 2010 (3.4%).
C's draws most of its support from the Barcelona metropolitan area. In the 2010 regional elections, the party gained more than 4% in the counties (comarques) of Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Vallès Occidental and Tarragonès. Everywhere else, it remained under 4%, with the worst results in the provinces of Girona (1.69%) and Lleida (1.79%). Only in the Province of Barcelona did C's receive more than 3% of the vote, which is the threshold for parliamentary representation.
Controversies
C's has been identified as a populist platform, e.g. by far-right movements expert Xavier Casals. In spite of its efforts to identify its core ideology as progressive, its campaign videos feature notorious right-leaning socialites, journalists and television personalities. One of these is known for having voiced extremely xenophobic views as well as exhibited sexist and violent behaviour on TV.
On January 2014, Catalan Supreme Court of Justice (TSJC) probed C's Parliament member Jordi Cañas on account of a fraud of 429.203 euros. Cañas abandoned his party spokesman position and announced he would to abandon his seat in the Parliament if he were formally indicted.
Cañas, arguably the most visible presence in the party up until then aside from Rivera, had also been the source of previous controversies such as the one which took place when he contemptuously uttered "¡Qué lástima!" ("This is pathetic") in 2012 during a Parliament meeting after CUP spokesman David Fernàndez reminded the audience that Catalan culture had survived Franco and Espartero.
During the election campaign of 2006, the party's president Albert Rivera appeared completely naked in a poster in order to attract publicity to the party.
In 2006, the newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya revealed that Rivera was a member of the Conservative People's Party (PP) between 2002 and 2006, and that he had quit PP just three months before running for elections with the Citizen's Party In spite of the evidence, however, Rivera denied having been a full member of the party, and only admitted having participated in some of the actions of the youth section of the party.
Relations to the media
The party frequently complains about an alleged boycott on the part of Catalan media, especially public television: in their opinion, the party is given too little time to present its views on public television. They have also criticized the Catalan press for similar reasons, especially the Spanish-language Catalan newspapers La Vanguardia and El Periódico de Catalunya. On the other hand, its opponents and critics frequently point out the disproportionately high coverage of Ciutadans by the Spanish national media, especially the Madrid-based Libertad Digital, El Mundo, Telemadrid, and ABC.
European election internal disputes
In 2009 it was announced that C's would run for the European election allied with Libertas coalition.
According to some members of C's, the negotiations prior to this electoral pact were led personally and secretly by the party leader, Albert Rivera. This fact has alienated the other two MPs (besides Rivera himself) and a significant part of the party from his leadership. In turn, the official stance of C's is that the critics are acting more as a fifth column of the ideologically close Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), all resulting in a major crisis within the party.
Several intellectuals that had participated in the formation of Ciutadans, later withdrew their support from C's. Albert Boadella, for example, became one of the co-founders of the Union, Progress and Democracy party led by former Basque Socialist politician Rosa Diez.
Other
Although the party was created in Catalonia as "a response to Catalan nationalism", additional branches have sprung up in the rest of Spain, although without much success.
Prominent meetings of the party have been reportedly picketed by Catalan independentist groups on several occasions. Its leader Albert Rivera alleges he has received anonymous death threats urging him to quit politics.
See also
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)
External links
- Lerrouxism in the Catalan 28-N Elections
- Fernàndez, Josep-Anton (2008). El malestar en la cultura catalana: La cultura de la normalització 1976–1999. Editorial Empúries. p. 148. ISBN 8497873416.
- Template:EsLos federalistas del PSC y los autonomistas de PP y C's suman 48 escaños, 1 menos que en 2010 – Europa Press
- http://www.ciudadanos-cs.org/jsp/publico/conocenos/ideario.do
- "Parties and Elections in Europe, "Catalonia", The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck". parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- Manifesto signed by some intellectuals which preceded the formation of the party
- "Pro-Spain Ciutadans group demands Mas step down as regional premier". El País. November 26, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- "Albert Rivera: We must oppose "all nationalists, without exception"" (in Spanish). RTVE. November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- Lluís Orriols (August 13, 2013). "Ciutadans, ¿un partido de izquierdas o de derechas?" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
- "City Council of Barcelona: "Catalan will continue to be the Council's working language"". City Council of Barcelona. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ "Albert Rivera, Ciutadans candidate: "An independent Catalonia would fail"" (in Spanish). 20 minutos. November 15, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ http://www.ciudadanos-cs.org/jsp/publico/diloconnosotros/modelo_estado.do
- The Catalan oasis is already the populist oasis
- Catalonia, the populist laboratory of Spain
- http://www.eldiario.es/catalunya/TSJ-Jordi-Canas-Cs-Hacienda_0_220128601.html
- http://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2014/01/21/52de9c23e2704e6e068b4578.html
- http://www.dialogolibre.com/noticias/2014-01-20/Canas-dejara-el-Parlament-si-es-imputado-4087#.UzKl76hciSo
- "Qué lástima"
- http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Desnudo/presidir/Generalitat/elpporesp/20060916elpepunac_4/Tes
- http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2006/09/16/espana/1158417149.html
- "Albert Rivera estuvo afiliado en el PP hasta tres meses antes de presidir Ciutadans", El Mundo, November 21, 2006 (in Spanish)
- Agreden al periodista Arcadi Espada en un acto de Ciutadans de Catalunya en Girona contra el Estatut | elmundo.es
- El presidente de Ciutadans, amenazado de muerte por "luchar contra el nacionalismo" – 20minutos.es
- Albert Rivera es amenazado de muerte para que deje la política / EL MUNDO
- El presidente de Ciutadans denuncia haber recibido amenazas de muerte · ELPAÍS.com
- Albert Rivera denuncia amenazas de muerte para que deje su política "contra el nacionalismo"- Lavanguardia.es – Noticias, actualidad, última hora en Cataluña y España
Political parties in Catalonia  | |
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| Represented in the Parliament of Catalonia (135) |
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| Represented in the Spanish Congress of Deputies (48 out of 350) |
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| Represented in the Spanish Senate (24 out of 266) | |
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