Taking into account that Pere Aragonès has tired of saying that his government objectives were to be met beyond one term, it is not surprising that there are no surprises in the ERC program for the Catalan elections of May 12. The agreed referendum, under the umbrella of a clarity agreement, and the unique financing for Catalonia are at the center. Both are among the most significant proposals among the 500 included in the 170 pages of the document.
There are other notable points, such as the creation of a linguistic policy department to promote and defend Catalan, the transfer of all powers and resources for migration management, the creation of a virtual police station so that cybercrimes can be reported electronically, achieving 2% of the budget for Culture, or reversing the tax reduction approved for the game in 2014.
Deputy Secretary General Marta Vilalta and Senator Sara Bailac presented the program. There are no references to the unilateral path to independence, as was the case in the one presented for the Parliamentary elections of February 2021, when a small margin was contemplated. In any case, unilaterality is an option that ERC had been diluting in subsequent presentations.
The Republicans understand that with the amnesty ready it is time for "the second phase of negotiation", with an agreed referendum on the table.
Regarding singular financing, ERC conceives it by warning that “only the independence of Catalonia guarantees having all the tools.” “We are clear about where we are going and what we need to achieve in the meantime. And this meanwhile necessarily involves unique financing,” the Republicans state in the text.
Aragonès participated yesterday in a colloquium of the Taula of the Third Social Sector. For the president and candidate of ERC, only financing that involves Catalonia collecting and managing all the taxes it generates is ideal. Any other proposal is “a toast to the sun.” Words with which he rejected the bet of the PSC candidate, Salvador Illa, who advocates for financing based on the principle of ordinality included in the 2006 Statute.
Aragonés' idea is a system for the Generalitat to obtain income from all taxes, agreeing with the State on a contribution to establish a solidarity quota. “We do not want a coffee for everyone, which we would also have to agree with the autonomous communities governed by the PP, and Catalonia would be left with the residue,” he concluded.
