Democratic Convergence of Catalonia

Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya
President	Jordi Pujol i Soley
Founded	November 17, 1974
Headquarters	C/Còrsega, 331 08002 Barcelona
Ideology	Liberalism, Catalan nationalism
International affiliation	Liberal International
European affiliation	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Parliament Group	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Official colours	Blue, white
Website
www.convergencia.cat/
Politics of Catalonia Political parties Elections

The Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (Catalan: Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, CDC; IPA: [kumbərˈʒɛnsiə ðəmuˈkɾatikə ðə kətəˈɫuɲə]) is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. Together with Democratic Union of Catalonia, it forms part of the Convergence and Union (Convergència i Unió, CiU) coalition. It is affiliated with the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party and with the Liberal International. Between the early 1980s and early 2000s, it was the main ruling party in Catalonia. Jordi Pujol, the leader of CDC, was president of Catalonia for 23 years. After spending 7 years in opposition, it came back to power in the 2010 parliamentary elections.

It is the most important political organization in Catalonia with more than 60,000 members, and about 30% of the votes in national elections.

It describes itself as Catalan nationalist and takes more or less the position of a centre liberal party in Catalan politics.

The President of Democratic Convergence of Catalonia is Jordi Pujol i Soley, and its General Secretary is Artur Mas, who is the party's leader.

The section of CDC in the Occitan-speaking Val d'Aran is known as the Aranese Democratic Convergence.

In the press and in the media, it is frequently called just Convergència, and its members are known as convergents in Catalan and convergentes in Spanish.

Ideology and policies

CDC is usually considered as Catalan nationalist party; this is also the term it uses to describe itself. Both the Spanish and Catalan media perceive it as a moderate nationalist force. However, CDC has a current which advocated Catalan independence from Spain. This current has grown stronger after 2006. The main exponents of the independentist current within CDC are Felip Puig, Oriol Pujol, David Madí, and Àngel Colom. The party's president Artur Mas has stated he would vote in favor of Catalan independence in a theoretical referendum of independence, but he added this would not be his official policy if elected as President of Catalonia.

In economic issues, CDC takes a liberal stance, defending a favourable business environment. However, it also supports welfare policies, and it's generally considered more pro-welfare than the People's Party, the major liberal conservative party elsewhere in Spain. The party's founder, Jordi Pujol, was strogly influenced by the Swedish welfare model, and tries to apply some of its features in Catalonia in the 1980s. However, by the late 1990s, a younger party leadership moved closer to Neo-liberal stances.

In social issues, CDC tends to be more socially liberal than its coalition partner, UDC. In the past decade, CDC has supported gay marriage, stem cell research and the extension of abortion rights. In these issues, CDC has been closer to the Spanish left than to the right. It was also one of the three parties that voted for the Ban on bullfighting in Catalonia (the other two were the Catalan Republican Left and the Greens).

See also

• Liberal democracy
• Liberalism and radicalism in Spain

External links

• Democratic Convergence of Catalonia official site