From lost, to the river, they think of the Government of Aragon. After hearing on Tuesday how the president of the COE, Alejandro Blanco, opened the door to a competition between Catalan and Aragonese candidates if the joint one fails, Javier Lambán has almost completely resigned himself. And although the Spanish Olympic Committee said it would make one last attempt to reach an agreement, in the Aragonese community they see it as very complicated and admit to this newspaper that they have "nothing to do" with Catalonia if two candidates are presented. The history of bickering between Blanco and the Aragonese leader weighs. So this Wednesday the Lambán Executive left the meeting of its governing council in force and accused Blanco of being a "political commissioner" of Catalonia, of acting in favor of the interests of this community and invited him to " take a step back” and to withdraw from the negotiation for the Olympic project for two.
The accusations have not gone unnoticed by Blanco: "The issue of Aragon... I think it has already overcome everything, everything that can be lied", he said in a media attention during an event organized at the COE headquarters , in Madrid, on the role of sport in the reception of Ukrainian refugees. There was the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, who had a very brief meeting with the Minister of the Presidency of the Generalitat, Laura Vilagrà. Blanco introduced them in person. There was no Aragonese representative.
The impression in the Government of Aragon is that they paint coarse. They believe that the conflict, for months, between Lambán and Blanco leaves them without possibilities for a good candidacy, either jointly or alone. In any case, behind the reproaches yesterday to the president of the COE there is also the will to pressure Pedro Sánchez to intervene. In the Aragonese Executive they recognize that the head of the central government and Lambán have a bad relationship. It remains to be seen if an inaction by Sánchez so that the Generalitat is favored could give ammunition to the PP and Vox in the next electoral contests.
Be that as it may, the list of reproaches from the Minister of the Aragonese Presidency, Mayte Pérez, to Blanco has been extensive. In addition to treating him as a "political commissioner" of Catalonia, she has pointed to him as "an exponent of a failure" and an "obstacle" for the joint candidacy, and accused him of "not playing fair".
Pérez has gone so far as to affirm that Blanco is exercising “unbearable blackmail” with his intention to present a final proposal in the coming days, and has affirmed that he is responsible for provoking “a first level territorial conflict”, since in his opinion, “ He is judge and jury”.
Meanwhile, the Government goes to his own. They insist on the collaborative candidacy, but this Wednesday for the first time Vilagrà has admitted that the Generalitat is prepared to present its own candidacy if necessary.
