The PSC and Junts go hand in hand again. They did it months ago to address the drought and last week during the general policy debate, when they “agreed” to present a resolution denouncing “the lack of confidence” in the Government. Also when they made their own proposals succeed in more than 85% and, on the contrary, that two thirds of the resolutions of Esquerra fell, to the point that the post-convergents did not make it easy for them to push forward positions, as remember yesterday Pere Aragonès, in favor of putting an end to the fiscal deficit or “underfunding” in healthcare.
“His Government is more isolated than ever and there is a socio-vergent alliance to put an end to any left-wing policy”, stated yesterday Xavier Pellicer, deputy of the CUP, before the PSC and Junts showed a new coordination in the eyes of the entire chamber: in the control session of the Government and the President of the Generalitat, they pressed for the Catalan Executive to respond forcefully to the acts of vandalism that have taken place in recent days in Catalonia.
The list of incidents is significant: in Tàrrega, Amposta, Manresa, assaults on dealerships in Molins de Rei, stabbings in Vic and Barcelona. All starring organized groups.
“Security is paramount in every society”, judged the leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa, for whom the latest acts of vandalism have caused “a feeling of insecurity and impunity” in the citizens of Catalonia. The first secretary of the Catalan Socialists warned that it would be a mistake to minimize these facts, “if we call things by their name and even more so if we hide our heads under the wing and stand behind the mayors”. A fact that was refuted by Aragonès, who considered coordination with municipalities and local police necessary for prevention and response tasks.
In any case, Illa insisted that security depends on Aragonès. “We are going from bad to worse”, he said, addressing the head of the Government directly. In fact, the leader of the Catalan Socialists criticized that during this legislature Parliament has devoted more, as he pointed out, to inspecting and controlling the police than to addressing “the real problems” that the police have to deal with . An appreciation that sounded like an amendment to the approach to postulates of the CUP by the Aragonese Government. At this point, the Socialist leader announced that they will ask for an extraordinary plenary session on security.
Together it reinforced the message of insecurity. Albert Batet, president of the JxCat parliamentary group, denounced that the Government has not given “concrete answers or solutions to the serious increase in insecurity in Catalonia, which requires imminent measures”. Batet, in addition, brought to the fore a new law proposal to launch the Integrated Social and Health Care Agency, so that it is approved urgently, when the Government already has registered a bill on this point .
Aragonès detailed the lines of action: the police presence will be strengthened at all major events and at places of maximum public attendance. Secondly, the president of the Generalitat affirmed that there will be “forceful action” by the Mossos d’Esquadra in the investigations of acts of vandalism. “There have been some arrests, and let those responsible for these actions know that they will not go unpunished”, he remarked. And thirdly, he emphasized that there are situations of social uprooting that aggravate the situation.
The president pointed out that marijuana drug trafficking “is one of the main security problems in Catalonia”. “It will be necessary to change speeches, be forceful and if necessary change the legislation, because a permissive culture is being taken advantage of so that organized crime breaks society”, he concluded.
The head of government has stated several times that he intends to finish his mandate in February 2025, but with only 33 ERC deputies and the rationalized opposition of the PSC and Junts, it may take a long time.
