The Government’s decree to alleviate the effects of the drought that has been affecting Catalonia for months served yesterday as a pretext for the opposition to give the Government a touch of attention. This is not the first and the tune is not new. The groups have already complained more than once that the Catalan Executive, they argue, approves measures in the Executive Council without seeking consensus in advance, despite the fact that it only has 33 deputies out of the 135 that make up the Parliament.
The rule in question went ahead with 33 votes in favor of Esquerra, which was joined by the non-affiliated deputy – former PP and former Vox – Antonio Gallego; 79 abstentions from PSC, Junts, En Comú Podem and the CUP, and obtained 19 votes against Vox, Ciutadans and PP.
In addition, the opposition groups forced the decree to be processed as a bill, although the latter is not their final intention. The groups hope to agree a new decree with the Executive that complements the first one, since it would be more agile and faster than approving the decree validated yesterday by adding amendments. The process could take three months.
However, on March 31 there is a summit on the drought planned at the Palau de la Generalitat and during its presentation, the Minister for Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, Teresa Jordà, already yesterday opened the door to modify the current decree in a consensual manner with local bodies and other formations. The drought is the “most worrying challenge” facing Catalonia in the coming months, according to Jordà, who urged the opposition parties to forge the “necessary alliances” at the summit to be held next week. “I commit to bring a new decree to move forward better and better with a new consensus. Water has no flags, water is life and it is the beginning of all things”, stressed the head of Acció Climàtica.
Another aspect that angered the opposition is the sanctioning regime contained in the decree for municipalities that do not comply with its provisions, even if the Government assures that “it has a dissuasive and non-sanctioning intent”, and that it is only one point of 15 that contains the text.
Before the debate on the decree began, in the control session, the commons had already announced that they would abstain and reproached the Catalan Executive for the lack of dialogue and planning in this matter. From JxCat they also reproached the Government for not first calling a summit on water and then bringing a consensual decree to Parliament.
All this is indicative that the Government must constantly row against the current if it intends to exhaust the legislature in 2025. That the Republicans and Pere Aragonès are alone is evident day by day and will be accentuated as the date of the approval of the budgets and the municipal elections are approaching.
Not only was the drought the perfect excuse to undermine the president of the Generalitat. Darts of all colors flew yesterday: the “snooze” and “victimism” for espionage with Pegasus, the CUP’s doubts about the Hard Rock, the flame ignited by the restructuring of the Mossos organizational chart, the agreement of clarity to mark the conditions for a referendum that only the commons support, the controversy over the construction of a residence in Santa Coloma de Gramenet starring the Minister of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, or an “embarrassing” institutional trip to Latin America
Aragonès will be short of breath, despite the fact that already in October, after Junts per Catalunya left the Government, he assumed that he would have to govern by negotiating “measure by measure, project by project”. Not even the PSC and the commons, which approved the budgets of the Generalitat, give a break.
At the head of the Government, he was seen to be particularly upset with Ciutadans, the PP and Junts. Of the latter, Albert Batet took the floor to question everything and demand “respect for the institutions”, something that in his opinion does not happen when the president rules by decree.
Aragonès reminded him that before approving the decree on the drought on February 28 in the Executive Council, the Catalan Executive met with Junts on February 14 and “open to contributions”. And he affirmed that if Junts does not like the clarity agreement, it would be advisable for him to provide an alternative, “but viable, not Mr. Canadell’s fantasies”, deputy of JxCat.
