Five of the electoral candidates for the 12-M elections faced this Monday the first electoral debate ahead of the May 12 elections, a debate organized by Pimec, the Catalan small and medium-sized business association, in the that dominated political correctness and in which everyone was able to present their proposals regarding business, financing, taxation, infrastructure or ecological transition. Despite this correction, each candidate for the Generalitat was able to show his strategies.
Under the title “Las pymes, motor de Catalunya”, the candidates Salvador Illa (PSC), Pere Aragonès (ERC), Josep Rull (number 3 of Junts Puigdemont por Catalunya and person designated by the candidacy), Jéssica Albiach (Comuns Sumar) and Alejandro Fernández (PPC) debated on the strategic issues that affect the day-to-day and activity of Catalan SMEs. The debate did not include the presence of the Ciudadanos candidate, Carlos Carrizosa, who, at the entrance of the Born Center for Culture and Memory, expressed his protest to the media.
In this electoral debate, the first to be held until these elections, Aragonès’ efforts to defend the work of government in the three years that he has been president could be appreciated; that of Alejandro Fernández for entering into hand-to-hand combat with Illa; that of the PSC leader for showing a presidential profile, signaling his peremptory intentions if he becomes president; Albiach’s interest in attacking the management of the current Government, and Rull’s interest in vindicating the work of government when his formation has held the presidency and in marking distances with the management of the ERC Executive, both in Catalonia and in Madrid.
“It has been a useful, constructive, polite debate,” celebrated Fernández, who however was the most belligerent of the five in his particular fight with Illa over the pandemic and the PSC’s policy of pacts with the pro-independence parties. The PP candidate presented himself as a guarantee of the definitive end of the process against the proposals of ERC and Junts and the role of “facilitator” of the socialist candidate.
For his part, Aragonès vindicated the Government he presides over, which in his opinion has made an effort to identify the needs of SMEs, and vindicated some macroeconomic data: “We have less unemployment than ever, more public services, more teachers, more police forces, and budgets capable of responding to needs,” he appreciated. The president warned that facing “Illa’s project, which is the State, and Puigdemont’s, which is Puigdemont”, is that of ERC.
Rull placed the center of Born as a metaphor for an “extraordinary country and a nation that has fought and moved forward tirelessly.” For the leader, who debated on behalf of Puigdemont, these elections are about having “a nation with reinforced self-esteem and a Government that governs well, that is respected.” In his opinion this is what President Puigdemont represents, “an attitude for a collective hope to win freedom and independence.”
Illa offered “protection and certainty” after 10 years “lost” due to the independence parties that have governed Catalonia, and “the third great transformation” that will obey two verbs: unite and serve. According to the candidate, it is about “bringing public services up to standard” taking into account that SMEs “are essential because they represent 60% of the wealth.” For this reason, Illa opted for better taxation and financing.
Albiach placed emphasis on the ecological transition, which in her opinion “is not an option” but “an obligation” in the face of which “we cannot wait any longer. In this sense, the leader emphasized the need to undertake changes in terms of financing , of mobility infrastructures with special dedication to trains. “The Catalonia that is coming has to be that of excellence, that of the productive economy, and not that of the casino economy,” he said.
The debate focused on crucial issues for the Catalan business fabric, such as the difficulty of finding qualified labor, work absenteeism, drought, administrative simplification, infrastructure and taxation and financing. And it was structured in three thematic blocks: training; talent acquisition and retention; public administration as an ally of companies, and the challenges of the present for greater competitiveness.
The only common link between all the candidates was the agreement on the need for Catalonia to have better financing, with many nuances. Only Fernández raised more objections, conditioning this improvement on the process being definitively buried, something that is understood as a renunciation by the independence parties of their political objectives.
Illa proposed better, “fair” financing, that addresses ordinality and aims at “progress” and reversing poverty rates. Albiach demanded that Catalonia fight for a proposal on this matter that would first be shared by the Catalan parties. And Aragonès and Rull showed their differences in this area. While the president proposes a unique financing in which Catalonia collects all taxes and negotiates a solidarity quota with the State, the Junts leader placed “leadership and method” as “keys” to achieving an improvement in financing. It is there where he asked the ERC candidate if “anyone has controlled or monitored” the fiscal deficit while the Republicans were negotiating in Madrid. “It’s unheard of,” he lamented. In response, Aragonés appeared “surprised”: “Now that they are starting to negotiate, you come to give lessons.”
Along these lines, the ERC candidate vindicated the work done by his party in the negotiations with the State government. And he pointed out that thanks to the negotiation with ERC the weight of the FLA debt will be reduced or the deficit margin has been modified upwards.
In the area of ??infrastructure, the Rodalies state and the expansion of the El Prat airport took center stage. In the first matter, Aragonés once again demanded the comprehensive transfer included in the agreement with the PSOE. Illa promised to implement the Fourth Belt if he is president and to expand the airport in response to economic needs, not so that more tourists come, and in accordance with the environment and the noise limits that the municipalities close to the infrastructure ask to respect. And Albiach was against this expansion although not against more intercontinental flights.
Hard Rock was also present during the debate when the Comuns Sumar candidate announced that, if they are in the Government, they will put an end to the tax reduction directly linked to gambling. Albiach, by the way, was wearing a t-shirt with the phrase ‘Tax the casinos’.
Differences have also been noted in matters of business and taxation. Regarding the concerns of the business community, everyone opted to strengthen the FP, to apply conciliation measures that allow reversing the high rates of absenteeism from work and reducing bureaucratic procedures for companies and the self-employed.
Regarding the tax burden borne by Catalans, there were also opposing positions. Albiach opted to promote a Catalan Investment Bank, a polygon law, initiatives to combat late payment or rethink Vocational Training, but warned that lowering tax rates would mean a cost for social services in the short and medium term.
The warning clashed squarely with the proposals of the PP candidate, who considered the situation in Catalonia to be “fiscal hell” and proposed the elimination of the inheritance tax, the deflation of income tax brackets and the elimination of the wealth tax. Illa promised to carry out an audit of Catalan public services and was also against the policy of fiscal dumping that in his opinion is carried out by some communities, such as Madrid, and Rull proposed “moderation in taxation” and not approving the general budgets of the State if “the fiscal and investment deficit” of recent years in Catalonia is not compensated.
