It may be difficult for Esquerra to justify a vote against the decree on economic sustainability and energy saving measures. In its latest electoral program, that of the Catalan autonomous communities of 2021, it has phrases such as "on the road to free public transport, we must guarantee comprehensive pricing that extends throughout the country", and is committed to "achieving high levels of saving and energy efficiency. “In general, it sounds good”, they admit from ERC, while warning that the initiative of the Government of Pedro Sánchez “has deficits”. As has happened on many other occasions, the Republicans will not decide the direction of their vote until the last moment, most likely on Thursday morning. The parliamentary group of Congress has just landed in Madrid and is awaiting internal meetings to discuss the multitude of measures from different fields – scholarships and university grants are also included, for example – contained in the decree, in addition to resolving consultations with the conselleries to elucidate whether any of the issues conflicts with the Generalitat. Pending an in-depth analysis, the ERC does not see "crazy measures", although they point out some buts, such as the fact that the responsibility for inspecting issues such as the temperatures of the air conditioners and heaters or the lights in the shop windows falls on the Generalitat inspectors. In addition, they note that the decree was forged without consulting the autonomies.
In any case, and without yet having a clear vote, what ERC does plan to demand is that the decree be processed as a bill to introduce changes and nuances. From the party they put a very concrete example: they criticize that the gratuity is only for Renfe users. “They forget about the emptied Spain; there they travel by coach”, sources point out. Until yesterday, before knowing the intention of the PP to vote no, ERC had hardly received calls from the Government to attract the Republicans and convince them to endorse the decree. These three days the situation can change, since the Government, if the PP does not change its mind, needs to have the majority of the investiture again. The thaw after the dialogue table meeting can contribute to this.
