The opposition parties in Catalonia are treading carefully before deciding whether to fail the Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, due to the crisis generated in the Mossos d'Esquadra as a result of the dismissal of Commissioner Josep Maria Estela. Neither PSC, nor En Comú Podem, nor Junts have dared for now to present an initiative that does not even have legal consequences nor would it force the person in charge of the Interior to resign and only the PP dares to request his dismissal.
Although the leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa, assured yesterday that he does not rule out the idea, the decision is marked by the current political scenario: an ERC minority government that has in its hands approving the Catalan and State budgets, and a central government that measures its steps before the next meeting of the dialogue table while preparing the machine for the municipal elections.
To this must be added the interests of Catalan and common socialists. The former control a large part of the municipalities of the metropolitan area, the most populous in Catalonia, some with serious public order problems in their streets, and the latter are in charge of Barcelona, the square with the greatest problems of citizen insecurity in the community. The perception of security is very important for any government, also for municipal ones, especially now that local elections are approaching.
Failing the minister in these circumstances can be counterproductive for everyone. This is what parliamentary sources of the opposition point out: "Of all, the most difficult minister to fail is the Interior Minister," they warn, "especially now."
Although the opposition parties would not lack the desire to carry out an initiative of this type, in the PSC, which is the one that has most openly spoken about this possibility, they consider that it would be unfeasible without Junts. In fact, party sources assure that Elena would be obliged to fail Elena if it were not for the doubts generated by doing so now. The Socialists have maintained contact with the postconvergents on this matter and have been summoned to weigh it after the explanations given by the minister in parliament, by then it will be known if the ERC definitively presents an amendment to all of the general budgets of the State, for instance.
The Socialists are clear that in order to fail Elena, the involvement of Junts is required, but the prudence that Illa imposes "recommends listening first" before making a decision of this caliber, although there are those who warn that "an opportunity like this" might don't happen again.
For now, what will go ahead is the socialist motion that will be voted on Thursday in Parliament and that denounces the "existence of repeated attempts to politicize the body, turning it into a bargaining chip to achieve partisan agreements." The PSC currently has the support of Junts and, if it does not change, even of ERC, which can be favored by the refusal to accept an amendment from Ciudadanos that calls for the dismissal of Pere Ferrer, director general of the Police.
The postconvergents are willing to force the Minister's appearance next week, in the Interior Commission chaired by ERC. In this way, Junts already acts as an opposition party, clamping down with the PSC at the committee table to prevent the Republicans from postponing the Minister's explanations ad eternum.
The PSC holds back when it comes to failing the person in charge of the Interior, as happened with the Minister of Education, Josep González Cambray, for his management of Catalan in the classroom, the start of the course and the neglect of the demands of the teaching group. In fact, the socialists came to have an agreement with the commons on this initiative, but backed down at the last moment in the face of the possibility of signing an agreement on the law of Catalan in non-university education, which was finally forged.
It is the same prudence that keeps them from presenting a motion of censure to Pere Aragonès: not to generate more instability, feed the erosion of ERC and not harm the interests of Pedro Sánchez.
Now, Elena is in the spotlight and in the PSC she takes into account that the minister is a trusted man of Oriol Junqueras and that he will continue his political career, sooner rather than later, in the Barcelona City Council. In fact, they fuel the information that places the minister as number three on Ernest Maragall's list for Barcelona, with a view to taking over from him.
They also consider that Pere Ferrer, who continues as Director General of the Police despite the departure of Junts from the Government, is destined to be Elena's "fuse" if required, and that Sallent will leave his current position sooner rather than later. marked by his attachment to power and to ERC, forged in offices.
