The former president of the Generalitat José Montilla sees "posturing" in the fact that his successor Carles Puigdemont says that he has not renounced anything regarding the Junts pact with the PSOE for the investiture of Pedro Sanchez. "They know perfectly well that they will not do it again," Montilla said in an interview for the RTVE program Café d'Idees, in which he warned that the pro-independence parties "do not have the strength" necessary to carry out a process. of self-determination.
“It is only part of the posturing and brutal competition that exists between ERC and Junts,” stated the former president, asked about the position of the current MEP. “Give up their maximum program, they will not give up,” Montilla reasoned about the independentists, after stating that “it would not make sense, it would not even be democratic” for them to stop pursuing independence, but he pointed out that his speech only responds to the “need.” to show that there is a game that raises the bar higher than the others.”
Likewise, the former president of the Generalitat has clearly expressed his position on a referendum: “I don't want to vote. “I think referendums are divisive.” Montilla has highlighted the immobility of the results of a self-determination process, recalling the referendum on Quebec, Scotland and Brexit, about which he has pointed out: “many now say that they were wrong.” “In an election there are some ballot boxes, and after four years there are others,” commented the Catalan socialist, who also noted that, in the case of the Statute, “in the same way that it was voted by referendum, it can be changed.” .
Montilla, who has described himself as “understanding of governments,” has reflected on the legislature of President Pere Aragonès. “Problems are not solved by making PowerPoints or declarations or proclamations,” he commented. The Catalan socialist has observed that "it is difficult for them to comply with agreements, because they are afraid of certain things, of what some will say, or what others will say", and he recalled that "to govern is to make decisions, to take risks, and if necessary , burn.”
In the same sense, the former president has regretted that opportunities have been lost in the Catalan financial fabric because "there are people who have dedicated themselves to something else." He has accused the pro-independence governments of “thinking exclusively for a certain parish”, and has recalled that “we Catalans are much more than the pro-independence supporters” and that “the discourse of 'if there are things that do not work, it is the fault of the pro-independence' is not valid. from outside'". “Governments have to dedicate themselves to people's problems,” Montilla stressed.
The former president has also attacked the independence supporters in the context of the drought; “Nothing has been invested,” he stated bluntly. “Trusting that it will rain is not a good tactic,” the socialist ironically stated before stating that “we live off the income of the past.” Montilla, who during his term also faced a significant drought, has criticized the fact that resources have not been allocated to “provide infrastructure for critical situations” and has celebrated the “drought table” that Aragonès claimed yesterday, after calling an extraordinary Executive Council scheduled for today.
The former president of the Generalitat has also valued the words of leaders such as Felipe González, Alfonso Guerra about the current political situation. Montilla has defended that this is a personal decision of each politician, but that "it depends on the responsibility and loyalty of someone who has held high responsibilities." He has specified Felipe González, after highlighting the cordiality and respect that he maintains with the former president of the Government, and has expressed disappointment in his words. “You have to understand that times change, and that if a party wants to represent society, it has to accompany these changes, and it must understand them,” highlighted the Catalan socialist.
Montilla has also spoken about the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who he has claimed to have noticed a change over the years. “He is in another role,” typical, in his opinion, “of the leaders of national parties who have had responsibilities in certain territories,” commented the former president of the Generalitat, after stating that “Madrid is something else, and it conditions them ”.
Finally, the Catalan socialist has begun to assess the legislature that begins the Government of Pedro Sánchez, which he has assured, “will not be easy.” He has also stressed that “the alternative is to let those who say they have won the elections but do not add up govern.”
After making a note about the situation of the protests in Ferraz, Montilla has defended the amnesty law as a proposal to contribute to coexistence between Spain and Catalonia, after highlighting that "we must think, not only about how things are now, but in what could happen if the law is not made.”
The former president of the Generalitat has praised Sánchez's intentions, after adding that, in his opinion, the most relevant thing is that the new Government can progress in a policy that continues to reinforce social rights, and that at the same time facilitates coexistence.
