André Maurois recommended not to speak badly of oneself because others might believe us. But that doesn’t mean you have to go through life putting on a face and not accepting criticism. The Economic Circle warned of the worrying evolution that the Catalan economy is experiencing and the Government of the Generalitat responded through its spokeswoman that the country’s economy is doing well and that it did not believe in the defeatism that some are selling .
This “some” had a derogatory connotation, which does not deserve an institution like the Circle, which has been an essential instrument of civil society since its foundation in 1958. Above all, because its transversal nature is beyond doubt: you just have to see board members resume to check.
The most intelligent thing would have been to say that he took note of the Circle’s recommendations, that some of the issues that his statement pointed out are already being addressed by the Government and that, in any case, he had invited the leadership of the organization to interview – to the Generalitat with the president.
The Circle’s statement explained that in Catalonia there has been an absolute stagnation in the standard of living and a relative decline compared to Spain and Europe. In addition, he warned of the difficulties in generating quality positions and of the mismatch between supply and demand in the labor market. And it provided unquestionable data, as the level of income per capita was similar to that of the year 2000: at that time it was 24% higher than the Spanish average and was 205 points above the European average, while in 2021 it to remain at 17% and was placed one point above the EU countries.
In reality, he was holding the different Catalan governments of this century responsible for not having created better conditions. However, there was one element that hurt: this stagnation was combined with the flight of companies due to the process and he considered that it was the Generalitat that was responsible for creating the conditions for them to return. In this regard, the Government spokeswoman said that there was no reason for them to leave and now there is no reason to ask them to return. Maurois also warned: “It is easy to have words, what is difficult is to have ideas”.
