A good runner friend told me yesterday to what extent the mark that Salvador Illa had made on Sunday in the Zurich Marató Barcelona was a good result, not so much because of his age and physical build, but above all because it was not so many years ago that he started running. run in this type of race. He has made good marks in his category (on Sunday, he was 152nd), also in the Valencia marathon or in the legendary Behobia in Donosti. He has applied himself there, with method and determination, and the results are coming to him. As in politics, according to the polls, although in this arena with certain luck added to his undoubted personal effort.

It is obvious that they have dressed him as a president, literally, refining his style, now more presidential and less perceptible as old, but circumstances have also “dressed” him as presidential in the political sense of the term. A low-intensity presidency of the Generalitat has helped this, as well as the unknown of the headliner in Junts, where Carles Puigdemont has explicitly reigned again since the summer.

This has helped him, as has a Catalan media ecosystem, which for example (and correctly) has not created the fuss that the media Brunete does promote in Madrid regarding the possible links of the former minister of Health with the Koldo plot. The latter, with no evidence so far of irregular behavior, does well not erode Illa. He has earned that respect. What we do not know if he has earned it with his effort and style is that there are many people who buy his speech due to the pure non-appearance, during a good part of the current legislature, of an adversary who competes with him at the highest level. This has been an added piece of luck that Illa has been able to take advantage of.

But now, in a semi-normalized political environment, with more established leaderships or at least with more experience, someone should have been able to answer Illa, from the top of ERC and Junts, when, for example, a few days ago the socialist leader stated that he “saves Catalonia, and not Aragonès” when it approves the Government’s budgets again, and that the PSOE “does not help Puigdemont, but Catalonia”, with the amnesty.

In a political court that is less clueless in the miserable struggles between independentists, someone from the Government would have had to answer Illa that if he helps approve the budgets it is obvious that he does it for an exchange of support with which Pedro Sánchez also needs for his accounts .

And, second, someone at the top of Junts should have reminded Illa that he followed to the letter, obediently and emphatically as anyone else, the denialist speech about the amnesty that Sánchez, Bolaños, Lambán, defended as one man. García-Page and the PP, until from 23-J it was convenient for the PSOE to change. As always, here yes, Illa helped without hesitation, but as until now, without a competitor to dispute marks in his category in the Catalan political debate.