The PSC’s proposal to limit and even eliminate the financial compensation and lifetime pension for former Speakers of Parliament once they retire does not appear to have any problems going forward. A priori, the debate will be about what new conditions are established, rather than whether or not they should remove the current conditions. ERC showed yesterday that it was willing to study the initiative of the socialists and made it clear that it will not oppose it. In any case, the Republicans want the measure to be extended to other legislative chambers, both state and autonomous.
The common people also see it well and it is even difficult for other groups such as Vox, the CUP, Ciutadans or the PP to reject it, unless they appreciate tacticianism in the socialists. Together, for its part, warns that if it is done ad hoc for its president, Laura Borràs, they will not consider the proposal of the PSC, and they demand that there be “a broad consensus” and a “serious and rigorous” debate .
The campaign for the municipal elections has been underway for weeks. The context is also important: the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) is awaited on Borràs for an alleged case of fraud and falsification of documents when he directed the Institute of Catalan Letters (ILC).
The position of Esquerra is particularly significant if you consider that three former presidents of the Parliament belong to its ranks – Ernest Benach, Carme Frocadell and Roger Torrent–, although some of them have not yet benefited from these financial rewards. The other two were from the Democratic Union of Catalonia: Joan Rigol and Núria de Gispert.
Marta Vilalta, spokeswoman for the Republicans, indicated that they will study the proposal. “But it is imperative that this rethinking is done in all chambers, both in the State and in other territories. Otherwise it would be a very partial proposal”, he warned, making it clear, in any case, that “it is not a condition, but an invitation”. Vilalta reiterated, like JxCat, that “any reform should not be done with specific cases in mind, but in the interest of defending the institutions and their prestige”.
“Any reform of these issues must be approached from the consensus and with the aim of prestige and rationalization of the institutions, and political opportunism must also be avoided”, stated the spokesperson and vice-president of the formation, Josep Rius, who has doubts that we are now in such a situation.
“If it’s an ad hoc reform, they won’t find us”, warned the JxCat spokesperson, who linked the socialist initiative to the PSC’s support for the Government in the Generalitat’s budgets.
Cs, in turn, emphasized the figure of the head of the opposition, a position they had with Inés Arrimadas. With the orange leader, they refused the privileges and rewards that corresponded to them.
The PSC insists that this is not a measure “against anyone or for any specific case” and they do not close the door that this same reform can be applied to the regime of the presidents of the Generalitat, who can also enjoy assignments after the severance and lifetime pensions once they reach the age of 65. Salvador Illa’s party has two former presidents of the Generalitat: Pasqual Maragall and José Montilla. Despite this, the socialists consider it necessary to focus for the moment on the case of the presidents of the Parliament due to the “institutional crisis” affecting the Catalan Chamber now.
