"I demand that the PP take its hands off Catalonia." Pere Aragonès was caught by the Andalusian bid in search of great Catalan fortunes in New York and by the Consell Executiu, meeting without cell phones; but the rejection reaction did not require any coordination. It must have been the first time in the legislature despite the sword of Damocles that Junts maintains over the Govern pact. The Andalusian president will hardly capture assets from Catalonia but he has done the independence movement a favor. In low hours, "Spain always helps", they certify with sarcasm.
ERC and Junts differ on fiscal policy. Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras did it with personal income tax and now Aragonès and Jaume Giró are keeping the debate open, but there is no better lever to “expand the base” for independence than to talk about taxes, fiscal balances and investments. Giró knows that only an unexpected absolute majority of Junts would allow the inheritance tax to be eliminated and Aragonès is not willing to grant even a gesture with assets, even if the signing of Lewandowski were at stake. In the draft budget for 2023, resources increase but the Generalitat "cannot afford" to give up the 649 million that it plans to enter as assets. There is debate Aragonès-Giró. "Everything is open, there is time," they point out.
The consensus around the wealth tax goes through the fact that the Minister publicly links any adjustment to the financing reform and places the ball in the court of Minister Montero, who returns to the impasse of the PSOE-PP incompatibility. The last financing system was agreed upon by a government of the PSOE and the tripartite Generalitat -with the minister of socialist economy- in the middle of August on the horn established by the Statute in its transitory provisions. Then the rest of the communities joined. The eight years that the system has expired shows that Catalonia's involvement in the negotiation was decisive. Also wear.
In 2007, when José Montilla warned against Catalan disaffection, in Madrid they responded that “that can be fixed with money”. The financing system ended up being the closest thing to a "lottery" according to the guru Ángel de la Fuente, but partisanship continues to prevail over solutions. Elections first. Let the noise increase. As much as to relegate in Catalonia a crisis of the Government declared independentist and close ranks with a speech in defense of autonomy.
ERC and Junts have taken advantage of the fiscal tsunami to take a break. With Pere Aragonès traveling to the United States until Thursday, the ministers of Junts have carried out Turull's orders. Mark profile with own initiatives in the Government. After the presence at the Diada demonstration, the announcement of an anti-smoking law on terraces, a possible delegation from the Generalitat in Israel and the legislative changes against home occupations are part of this strategy, although it generated tensions with the Interior, in CKD hands.
Turull has taken control of the territorial structure of the party, also the ideological one, including the "left" current; Laura Borràs has lined up his interventions; His collaborators in the Parliament have been dismissed without excessive fuss, and they are negotiating with ERC. They cling to the fact that the general policy debate should be a "turning point" for Junts, which is not synonymous with an "ultimatum", and the Parliament is working on joint resolution proposals. The sectoral policies front is almost closed and the discrepancies controlled. “The problem is not the management of the Government, it is independence”, they remember in Junts. Trading will run out until Thursday.
The president has prepared his speech with the support of all the ministries, applying the logic of a coalition government, although he reserves his "broad" proposal on self-determination. At Junts, they hope to hear about the initiative before the debate begins and, with less drama in the environment, they will analyze "whether we move forward or backward" before rethinking their future in the Government. ERC is not willing to "help" Turull, so the image of "winners and losers" can be a new burden if there is no agreement beforehand and the partners submit their discrepancies to the consideration of the opposition. The tax battle and the PP help, but they do not provide stability...
