The parliamentary group of En Comú Podem has decided to present an amendment to the entire budget of the Government of the Generalitat for this year, a declaration of intentions from the group chaired by Jéssica Albiach, which makes approval, with this gesture, more difficult. of the accounts despite the agreement of the Catalan Executive with the PSC. In any case, the commons maintain the intention of continuing talking with the Government and do not rule out the possibility of withdrawing this amendment in its entirety in case the president agrees to accept his main demand: discarding the Hard Rock. The response from Aragonès’ Cabinet has been blunt: “There is no room for negotiation with Hard Rock, and the common people know it.”
Going by parts. Albiach has justified the decision for two reasons: on the one hand, that the Government has not accepted to date his demand to bury the Hard Rock and, on the other hand, for a matter of procedure, as it expires this Tuesday at 10:30 the deadline for the presentation of amendments to the entirety.
“We have our say. We had made it a condition that the Government discard the largest casino in Europe because it is nonsense that directly challenges the president,” justified the leader of the Commons, who also assured that “if the Government publicly discards this project harmful we will withdraw the amendment in its entirety”. Therefore, the commons will continue “until the last minute at the negotiating table for the Government to correct this error,” she clarified.
To reverse this Tuesday’s decision, the Government and the Commons have one week before the amendments to the entire Catalan Chamber are voted on on March 13, the first procedure for the accounts to continue their course. until final validation. If this vote is not passed, the budgets would be returned and the Government would have the option of trying again or giving up and keeping the 2023 budgets extended.
But for relations to get back on track, it will be necessary to iron out the acrimony that has emerged in recent hours, in an escalation of mutual accusations that has soured the atmosphere. Thus, Albiach has called on Aragonès to “respond if he is willing to make the transformations that he announced in his investiture speech or remains in an old macro-project that CiU, PSC and the PP agreed upon ten years ago.” But for now, “it seems that the president is not willing to lead, but rather to remain captive of that decision,” he accused.
Furthermore, the leader of the commons has reproached the Government for trying to blackmail her group. Albiach was referring to the president’s statements warning the common people that these accounts are the most social in history and that they reverse the CiU cuts. “Less blackmail and more leadership. Proposals are made to us common people, there is dialogue with us, negotiations are held, but we are not blackmailed,” the leader replied.
The common people are “disappointed” with the attitude of the Government in these negotiations, as demonstrated by the fact that they do not even agree to propose a moratorium or similar measure that would prevent the Hard Rock from moving forward in times of drought. This moratorium “has become an urban legend,” Albiach lamented, because no member of the Generalitat has put it on the table, which is why the leader refuses to “speculate about it.”
The decision of the commons has not taken the Government by surprise. In fact, Republicans took the amendment for granted for days. The firm speech of En Comú Podem left no room for doubt within the Catalan Executive. But, in turn, they hope to convince them to withdraw it before next Tuesday’s vote.
Aragonès and his team refer to the 2022 accounts – with the post-convergent Jaume Giró at the head of the Department of Economy -, when the commons initially presented an amendment to the entirety and withdrew it before the vote to finally facilitate the approval of the numbers with an abstention. They also use the figures provided by the budgets, “the highest in history” and mostly destined for social measures.
The Government also uses newspaper archives to remember that the commons have provided the accounts for 2020, 2022 and 2023 with “the Hard Rock project underway.” Be that as it may, according to Plaja the amendment to the entirety “is not good news, not for the Government, but for the citizens of Catalonia.” “There is room, but little time,” she acknowledged.
The Hard Rock has become the obstacle for the commons, who have supported the last two Government budgets, to approve this year’s accounts. The presentation of the amendment occurs as a result of the blockage in talks between both parties. After several meetings, the members assure that there has been “little receptivity” on the part of the Catalan Executive to their budgetary demands, even beyond the issue of the Hard Rock.
The latest exchange of accusations between the president and the commoners has worsened relations. Aragonès warned those of Albiach last weekend that not supporting the accounts would mean being aligned with the “CiU cuts”, and the commons replied this Monday to the president that “if he wants to leave CiU behind, he should discard the Hard Rock, his star project”.
However, Plaja’s response has been forceful: there is no room for negotiation with Hard Rock. Plaja has justified that the project is between individuals and that the Government is limited, he said, to acting as an intermediary to corroborate that the stipulated steps are followed and the regulations are complied with. “There is no more,” stressed the spokesperson for the Catalan executive. “We trust that the commons will not be able to overthrow the budgets due to partisan calculations. The Hard Rock is only an excuse,” concluded Plaja, who stated that the Government will continue negotiating with “the best of wills.” “We are convinced that we will reach an agreement… if they really have the will to approve the budgets.”
The amendment to the entire commons joins the one presented this Monday by the CUP, after consulting its bases. The anti-capitalist militancy unanimously endorsed the decision after breaking off negotiations with the Government last week. The CUP charges against the Government and against ERC for their pact “with a right-wing, climate denier and clientelist PSC.”
The amendment to the entire CUP and the commons joins the one also presented by PP, Ciudadanos and Vox.
