The president of Aragon, the socialist Javier Lambán, continues with his particular crusade against all those involved in the joint failed Olympic bid between Catalonia and Aragon to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Pyrenees with the aim of signaling to all parties less to him of the failure of the project.
First it was the Generalitat and the Catalan independence movement, whom he accused of intransigence and of not taking Aragon seriously, then it was the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Javier Blanco, whom he reproached for being an "ally of the independence movement". But this Thursday, Lambán has already targeted the Government and, specifically, the Secretary of State for Sports and President of the Higher Sports Council, José Manuel Franco, who this morning considered that the accusation that the COE is an ally of the independence movement "surpasses some of the "barbarities" that he has never heard.
"I was expecting aggression and insults from the Generalitat de Catalunya and seeing the bias of recent events from the president of the COE, but I was not expecting it from a secretary of state," Lambán snapped after hearing Franco's opinion. "I foresaw that by defending the interest of Aragon, which is what I and my government have done, to make Spain, Catalonia and everyone respect this community and not take it for the watchman's whistle and by defending the commercial interest of the The Aragonese Pyrenees knew that he would be attacked and insulted," said the president.
"It seems to me something absolutely unusual that a Secretary of State of a Spanish government joins in the disqualifications and insults against a president of an autonomous community, which is as much as saying against a government of an autonomous community, which has limited itself to defending the interests of the community." "I am not going to be the one to feed this spiral of disqualifications and insults that some have decided to enter and in which the Secretary of State has decided to join today," which he has called "quite painful." "The Secretary of State's actions qualify themselves," he insisted.
"There are phrases that are disqualified, such as calling the COE an ally of independence. I have heard many barbarities throughout my life, but that one may exceed some of those I have heard before. Right now we are still digesting the disappointment because it would have been a magnificent joint candidacy", Franco had said this morning.
The president of the CSD was also clear when commenting on Lambán's words about Pau Gasol asking him to inform himself "better" after his support for the COE's decision. "We have to digest it, but what we cannot do is speak in those terms of an exemplary athlete, on the track and off the basketball court. These are words that a figure like Pau Gasol, an icon of Spanish sport, does not deserve. ", he pointed.
"If one should be insulted and vilified for fulfilling their duty, the insults and vilifications are welcome", added the Aragonese president, who has said that he has always known that defending the interests of Aragon "has its drawbacks and for me it will always be Aragon's interest ahead, however uncomfortable it may be".
Lambán has also rejected that there was "a technical project" and has assured that "this process has always been dominated by political criteria". He has also had new words for Blanco. "He gives more the impression of being a specialist in martial arts than of being someone who should promote consensus and agreement", to immediately add that he will not be the one who is going to "insult or disqualify anyone".
After lamenting that finally there has been no joint candidacy, and "not because of Aragon", Lambán has opted to look to the future and specifically to 2034. "The Aragonese Olympic dream is already 30 years old", recalled the president, who advocated for "starting from scratch" after indicating that the snow capital in the Pyrenees "is Jaca".
