Junqueras clarifies his veto of the PSC: "Approving the budgets is better than not approving them"

“If one day there are possible parliamentary majorities, well because those who have drawn up the budgets [Junts and the Ministry of Economy] are willing to vote for them, then there will be budgets; and if there are no possible budget majorities because those who have drawn them up now do not want to vote for them, (.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
08 November 2022 Tuesday 04:33
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Junqueras clarifies his veto of the PSC: "Approving the budgets is better than not approving them"

“If one day there are possible parliamentary majorities, well because those who have drawn up the budgets [Junts and the Ministry of Economy] are willing to vote for them, then there will be budgets; and if there are no possible budget majorities because those who have drawn them up now do not want to vote for them, (...) there is a scenario called extension”. With these words, the president of the Esquerra Republicana, Oriol Junqueras, ruled out a month ago approving the budgets with the PSC, whom he accused of "not being committed to ending the repression, at least to the extent that it continues to endorse a large part of the there is repression”.

The accusation persists but the veto against the Socialists and the idea of ​​extending the accounts are nuanced. "Approving budgets is good in general, but in a context of inflation even more so," Junqueras warned Tuesday in an interview on TV3 in which he argued that inflation "devours" budget items. For this reason, the Republican leader has made it clear that "approving budgets is better than not approving them."

At this point, the priority is the same as a month ago, just after JuntsxCat left the Government. Junqueras, re-elected this weekend as president of Esquerra, insists on negotiating and agreeing on the accounts with the former partners, who designed them for a reason (Jaume Giró was the Minister of Economy and responsible for their preparation). "Those who have prepared them now refuse to approve them and we must remind them to do so because it is good for society and for the economy," insisted Junqueras, who, without asking for the support of the Socialites, no longer denies that possibility.

However, Junqueras maintains the same arguments against the PSC but perhaps pronounces them without much effort. "The PSC has to take steps to reconcile with the 80% that exists in Catalan society, which is against repression and wants its end, which is in favor of a sincere and frank negotiation and which considers that the future of Catalonia It must be decided by voting, and with those 80% or more who should prefer that commuter trains work rather than not work or that European funds reach Catalonia", argued the president of the ERC, for whom when the PSC "takes steps in this direction I'm sure there will be many things we can agree on." For now, Junqueras believes that the Socialists are not in this scenario and has called on them to take steps in this direction.

Junqueras's words come a day after a parliamentary delegation from the socialist group met at the Palau de la Generalitat with the Government of Pere Aragonès to have a first contact in which to learn about the proposed budget framework. The formation of Salvador Illa reaffirmed its willingness to "open a sincere, responsible, realistic and honest budget negotiation", but warned that "it will be necessary to step on the accelerator" if the accounts are to be approved "within a reasonable period". For its part, the Catalan Executive was more cautious and insists on prioritizing an agreement with Junts and the Comunes, ruling out the possibility of agreeing with the CUP.