The deputy and spokesperson of the PSC in the Parliament of Catalonia, Alícia Romero, has claimed the influence of the party in the Government of Pedro Sánchez despite the fact that the Catalan Socialists have gone from having two ministers in the Executive, to one, Jordi Hereu, in in front of the Industry portfolio.
"I believe that our influence is not whether we only have one minister or two, but that here we get one million two hundred thousand votes, 19 deputies and 15 senators," Romero recalled this morning in an interview for the Café d'idees program on RTVE. . Likewise, he has highlighted the influence of Salvador Illa in the PSOE although the socialist leader is not present in the negotiations between President Pedro Sánchez and Junts. “Illa has an influence that is not questioned, not only in the PSOE, but with Pedro Sánchez,” said the spokesperson, who highlighted that “nothing is done that refers to Catalonia without Illa being involved.”
Given the relevance of the former Minister of Health in the socialist formation, Romero has also highlighted the figure of Miquel Iceta, now a former minister. “Iceta is the president of the party, and he is one of the most important figures,” stated the spokesperson, before commenting that, despite what may happen in the PSC Congress, in which “Illa has shown his interest in continue leading the party”, “Iceta has a lot of value, and has had a key role in recent years, and we will see it even more as time goes by.”
Likewise, Romero has ruled out that Sánchez intends to "de-Catalanize" the debate and that the PSOE's commitment to Catalonia is "indisputable" despite the fact that "there were more or fewer flags" in past socialist events.
Regarding the demands made by the pro-independence parties, the spokesperson has denied that all their demands will be met; “They can propose what they consider,” she stressed. “They cannot be conditions, but rather the beginning of a negotiation,” highlighted the PSC deputy, who has stressed the commitment of the socialists to establish the meetings, even if they are with Carles Puigdemont. “He is an influential person,” she has acknowledged in reference to the appearance of the former president on the list of the 28 most influential personalities in Europe in 2024 that she announced yesterday in Politico. “He (Puigdemont) has a result that makes them essential to sign agreements,” and for this reason, he has assured “we must talk and dialogue and sit at a table, and if that means sitting with Puigdemont, then we will have to sit with “Puigdemont.”
Romero has not spared criticism of the Aragonès government, whom he has accused of “going alone and negotiating very little.” “I don't know if the president is clear that it would be better for him to be accompanied,” commented the spokesperson, who assured that from the PSC “we extend our hand to him but he doesn't take it.”
The interviewer, Gemma Nierga, asked Romero about the 2024 budgets, about which the Government spokesperson, Patrícia Plaja, assured yesterday that she sees an agreement with the parliamentary groups "more than possible", but ruled out setting a date for the presentation of the proposal by the Catalan Executive.
The spokesperson reported that the PSC has let Aragonès know that before starting negotiations, they want to check “the execution of the 282 measures” that the PSC included in the 2023 budget agreement. Romero has also denied that the PSC is conditioned by the ERC pacts with the central government and that the Government will have to generate the trust to approve the budgets.”
Asked about the possibility that ERC seeks to reach an agreement with the pro-independence parties in the event that the socialists and the commoners reject the Government's proposals, Romero stated that "I see it as difficult, listening to how I listen to everyone in the Parliament", who pointed out: "it's all reproaches between each other for small things, like who presented a proposal first." Despite this, the spokesperson has assured that it would be positive if an agreement were reached even if it were with the pro-independence forces, since she has pointed out that "the problem is that the president does not reach agreements on anything."
Finally, Romero has regretted, just as the former president of the Parliament José Montilla did last week in an interview for the same program, that no progress has been made to combat the drought. “We are looking at the sky all day because we have been doing nothing for 10 years,” said the spokesperson, after demanding investments in regeneration plants, water treatment plants and expansion of desalination plants, after recalling that the latest infrastructure related to hydrographic resources “is President Montilla inaugurated in 2009.”
