The Councilor for Research and Universities of the Government of the Generalitat, Joaquim Nadal, considers that Catalonia has regressed in terms of autonomy. In statements to Catalunya Ràdio, the ex-leader of the PSC has distanced himself from those who see autonomism as an obstacle and has opted to restore "the civil unity of the Catalan people" to promote the concept of 'whole Catalonia'.
Nadal remains consistent with the speech that he already used at the time of abandoning socialist militancy. For the minister, “Catalonia is a nation” and it has to “decide on its future”. In this line, he has assured that he shares the objectives of amnesty and self-determination but, despite being in an ERC executive, he has avoided declaring himself independent at all times. In fact, he believes that the short term must be prioritized and self-government must be strengthened, an aspect in which he considers that Catalonia "is not as good as it was" in Jordi Pujol's last term. "We have to recover thickness and decision-making capacity and reaffirm ourselves as a nation," Nadal said.
In this sense, he lamented that the "political unitary front was dismembered" once the Assemblea de Catalunya was held and called for the recovery of "civil unity" that challenges the nation as a whole. "The spectacle of permanent division undermines national identity," she has pointed out.
At the same time, the Minister of Research and Universities has vindicated "realism" and "saying things by their name", referring, among other aspects, to October 1, which he considers was not a referendum due to the lack of international recognition.
Regarding his former party, the PSC, Nadal has criticized "certain attitudes, collusion and renunciations on essential issues for Catalonia" that end up forming a "specific profile", which is sometimes different from the discourse that the socialist formation had had years ago. One of the reasons for this change, according to Nadal, is the subordination of the PSC to the PSOE.
On the other hand, Joaquim Nadal has sent a message to the president of the suspended Parliament, Laura Borràs, whom he has accused of having a "populist speech" with which "he removes arguments". Despite this criticism, the minister places the post-convergence party as the main support to approve the 2023 budgets. In case of not having Junts' votes, Nadal affirms that they will have to be thrown forward "with whoever" to get a majority , without ruling out the socialists. The objective, he has said, is to have some new accounts, since the extension of them "hinders us and prevents us from growing."
Joaquim Nadal's words have come in the first days of exercising his new position in the Government. Although a few months ago he ruled out returning to politics, now he takes on the challenge that comes "as a gift" to take charge of an "exciting" project. He has explained that, knowing what Conselleria President Pere Aragonès was offering him, it took him "30 seconds" to give a favorable response, because Research and Universities has been his area of specialization in recent years.
