“You want to do? A new statute? A constitutional reform? A referendum? I am willing to contrast proposals and resolve the sovereignty conflict.” In this way, the president of the Generalitat stood up today, Pere Aragones, to the Government's refusal to agree to an independence consultation in Catalonia. What's more, he has insisted that ERC has put on the table the only proposal that exists today, so the excuse of “it is not possible” is no longer valid. “It could be that they don't want to do it, not that they can't do it,” explained the Republican leader, but not before remembering that the Executive also denied the amnesty, claiming that it was not viable and is now being processed.
Because in the end, Aragonès has clarified in an interview on Cadena Ser, “everything is a matter of political will”, not to mention that Pedro Sánchez “has a signed commitment”. Therefore, when faced with the Executive's slamming of the door, his response has been blunt: “When you sit down to negotiate, you must present proposals and ours fits perfectly into the legal system.”
On the other hand, the president of the Generalitat has confirmed that he will attend the summit of regional presidents that will take place next Monday, April 8 in the Senate. He mentions that he will talk about the amnesty and that he intends to go to “troll the PP.” Because, in his opinion, is obliged to defend the amnesty everywhere, even if “in hostile territory” and in a Chamber “chaired by the PP.”
Their objective is none other than to break the popular schemes and prevent the debate on the amnesty from becoming a “coven against the Government.” Furthermore, he confesses that “as a democrat, trolling the PP always feels like it, because they don't like to listen to what we say. It makes them uncomfortable.”
Catalonia, fiscally sovereign
Already with his sights set on the upcoming elections on May 12, the Catalan president has charged against the PSOE and Junts for not talking about the “solidarity quota” or the imbalance between the income of the government and that of the Autonomous Communities. In this sense, he has reiterated that Catalonia should collect all taxes, since “it could be fiscally sovereign.” He demands a new financing model for Catalans and encourages the rest of the autonomies to negotiate the so-called “solidarity quota.”
Regarding his work at the head of the Generalitat, Aragonès is satisfied, although he considers that “a great opportunity was lost with the Budgets and it was irresponsible to continue.” In his own words, after not moving forward with the Catalan accounts, “The most honest thing was the call for elections and do it on the first Sunday that was possible, without electoral calculations.
At this point, he has harshly charged against the partners of Yolanda Diaz, the Comuns, whom he accuses of having set “a very ideological and electoral profile at a high cost, because the complementary resources that were provided for education, culture or language… have been lost.” About a possible government led by Together and Carles Puigdemont He is blunt: “I am running to be president of the Generalitat again and depend to a minimum on other political formations that have not demonstrated responsibilities at the time when it was necessary.”
He has also had words for his maximum opponent, the socialist Salvador Illa, “who says no to everything: the minimum vital income, the transfer of Cercanías, the referendum…”. Thus, he accuses the leader of the PSC of considering the Catalans below the rest of the citizens of the State, despite being the third in contributing and the fourteenth in receiving. “That Catalonia may have more resources is not to the detriment of other autonomous communities, but there is a clear imbalance between the money that the CCAA contribute to the State government and that which they receive,” Aragonès concluded.