Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'Catalonia-Spain agreement without the Minister of Finance'

Today's financing situation is more difficult than the attempt at amnesty. Because we're talking about money. What's more, we're talking about the money of the Catalans, which finances part of the well-being of Spaniards in other regions.

How difficult it is, as history tells us. For as long as I can remember (more than forty years now), I've heard about the problem of underfunding. And a series could be written about the attempts of successive Catalan governments to solve it.

That is why we have titled this brief history of previous attempts as the hamster wheel.

Today, then, is the saint's day. What the new model will be like What will the Catalan and Spanish governments present today?

Oriol Junqueras told TV3 this morning that he didn't know what agreement would emerge, even though Esquerra (Republican Left) was the party that agreed on the initiative with the Socialists for Isla's investiture.

Some obvious facts have emerged: Catalonia will continue to contribute to the state, which is known as solidarity. But one of the major developments is that if it contributes as the third largest, it will also be the third largest recipient of state funds. This is called ordinality, and this concept alone, if achieved, is estimated to bring in another 6 billion euros for the Generalitat.

And the other big news is power: a Catalan Tax Agency that collects all the taxes we Catalans pay (except those of the local councils), including, of course, personal income tax, starting next year. The problem: for this to happen, the Catalan Tax Agency would have to hire 1,000 to 1,500 more workers, because it would manage many billions more euros. And it remains to be seen whether it will be an independent agency or subordinate to the Spanish Treasury.

The news has a lot of echo in Spain, of course. See the cover ofThe Country which proclaims that Catalan financing will be unique, federal and generalizable to the other communitiesQuestion: How many communities will want/be able to manage their taxes?

In The reason They give voice to the announcement of a coup d'état:

The president of Murcia, López Miras, says: "Pedro Sánchez's Catalan quota is illegal and corrupt.". Everything has been said.

Another problem: for the agreement to be implemented, it must be voted on in Congress by all the groups and deputies who supported Pedro Sánchez. It won't be easy, not even for the Socialists. Think about it: today's meeting is of the Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission on Special Financing, that is, the Treasury. The Treasury reports to Minister and Vice President María Jesús Montero. And who hasn't come to Barcelona to sign such an important agreement? Well, María Jesús Montero. Why? Because she's the candidate for president of the Andalusian Regional Government, and the last thing she needs is a photo op in the Palau de la Generalitat improving the financing of Catalonia. The Spanish government's side will be led by the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres. If the Socialists are already like this, imagine some of the other groups.

In conclusion: the reasons why Catalonia needs better financing are clear. If they need to be reminded, just one detail: don't come to them with the old story that we're the rich who don't want to show solidarity with the poor, because the risk of poverty or social exclusion rate in Catalonia is 24%, according to Idescat. Just because we're nominally richer doesn't mean there's no poverty.

Good morning.