Expectations were high yesterday at the Cercle d’Economia conference. Driven by the results in Sunday’s municipal and regional elections and by the good expectations with which the party faces the new electoral date of 23-J, the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was received by businessmen and managers as a whole triumphant In a packed auditorium, Feijóo became the meeting’s most applauded speaker, especially when he railed against the wealth tax. He also highlighted the commitment to Catalonia, which he placed as a priority of his policy, and admitted that “the PP has made mistakes in the past” in the community.
It was quite a wink at the Catalan business community: “It’s an unfair tax – he summarized about the tax levied on patrimony – because you can’t pay for the same thing every year”, in line with what is claimed from some time ago from the Circle itself, Work Promotion or the Family Business Institute. And he allowed himself to be ironic on the subject: “They say that the Catalans give a lot of importance to money, but they are the most splendid because they are the ones who pay the most taxes in Spain. They are patriots, without a doubt.”
The PP president, however, pointed to reducing the public debt as the first objective if he wins the election, so he admitted that he could not commit to eliminating the tax. “We have to square the accounts, I’m not here to make demagoguery”, he pointed out. Instead, he promised to return property powers to the autonomous communities, which would be equivalent to eliminating the tax on large fortunes, approved by the Government of Pedro Sánchez as a way to balance taxation between territories. The communities of Madrid and Andalusia apply bonuses in this tax figure that, in fact, eliminate it, while Galicia applies a smaller bonus.
In response to the audience’s questions, which were relayed to him by the president of the Cercle d’Economia, Jaume Guardiola, Feijóo promised that he would open “a new political stage” from the presidency of the government if he wins the elections, a stage in who wants “Catalonia and the interests of Catalans to be a priority”. The popular leader regretted that the party’s strategy with Catalonia in recent years depended on considering that it was “a chronic problem that we could not address, and it is a mistake”. For Feijóo, “if Catalonia is not doing well, Spain is not doing well. And on the contrary”.
He also emphasized that Catalan businessmen are more interested in talking about the fact that public money is used well than in correcting the crime of embezzlement by the leaders of the process; more to generate employment and legal security than to “continue mired in the same issues as always, led by the same people as always”. Housing, public health, security, efficiency of the Administration… “I invite you to stop talking about the problems of the politicians and to start talking about the problems of the citizens”, he concluded.
The applause in Feijóo contrasted with the absence of President Pedro Sánchez, who due to the electoral advance was replaced by Vice President Nadia Calviño. The leader of the PP criticized the advance and threw a hint at Sánchez: “A leader must face commitments and always show his face”. He also criticized the Government’s aid policy, such as free rail transport regardless of family income, and pointed out that the situation in the suburbs could be fixed with the money. Likewise, he demanded a drastic simplification of the legislative procedures, which in his opinion leaves “billions of millions trapped” in an inefficient public administration and justice system.
Of course, Feijóo skillfully dodged Guardiola’s question when he suggested that it might be necessary to agree with Vox to get the presidency of the government. The popular president avoided referring explicitly to the possible pact and recalled that he was president of Galicia with an absolute majority several times despite being told otherwise, and that the party has also obtained a majority in Andalusia, and on Sunday in communities like Madrid.
“Why do they say that there are no absolute majorities? I assure you that within my political approach I will not lose a single minute to explain what is not my objective”, he pointed out. The goal, “that in Spain there is a government that has a sufficient majority to carry out the reforms that the country needs”.
