André Maurois recommended not to speak ill of oneself because others might believe us. But that does not mean that you have to go through life sticking out your chest and not accepting criticism. The Cercle d'Economia warned of the worrying evolution that the Catalan economy is experiencing and the Government of the Generalitat responded through its spokesperson that the economy is doing well and that it did not believe in the defeatism that some sell.
The word "some" had a derogatory connotation, which an institution like the Cercle does not deserve, which has been an essential instrument of Catalan civil society since its founding in 1958. Above all, because its transversality is beyond doubt: it is enough to look at the resumes of the 22 members of your board to verify this.
The smart thing would have been to say that he took note of the Cercle's recommendations, that some of the issues that his statement indicated are being addressed by the Government and that, in any case, he had invited the entity's leadership to meet with the Generalitat at the Generalitat. president.
The declaration of the Cercle made it explicit that in Catalonia there has been an absolute stagnation in the standard of living and a relative decline compared to Spain and Europe. In addition, it warned of the difficulties in generating quality jobs and the mismatch between supply and demand in the labor market. And it provided unquestionable data, such as that the level of per capita income was similar to that of the year 2000: at that time it was 24% higher than the Spanish average and was 205 points above the European average, while in 2021 it remained at 17% and stood one point above the EU countries.
In reality, he was blaming the different Catalan governments of this century for not having created better conditions. However, there was an element that was the one that hurt: this stagnation was added to the flight of companies due to the process and he considered that it was the Generalitat who was responsible for creating the conditions for them to return. In this regard, the Government spokesperson said that there was no reason for them to leave and now there is no reason to ask them to return. She also warned Maurois: "It is easy to have words, the difficult thing is to have ideas."
