Antoni Bassas's analysis: '2026 without a budget, and with amnesty?'

I hope you're preparing for a very Merry Christmas. But before the good wishes, let's discuss a couple of things.

President Isla assumed yesterday that in January The Socialists and Esquerra will be able to present the agreement for the new financing of the GeneralitatAs we explained here two weeks ago, it was practically a done deal; there was an agreement on the amount of the increase that would be allocated to Catalonia and on the details of the new financing model. The Catalan government would have greater decision-making power regarding taxes, a position closer to ordinality, control and monitoring of state investments in Catalonia, and would no longer depend on advance payments—the money that the Treasury provides to the Catalan government. The announcement would coincide with the days of the planned meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Oriol Junqueras.

President Isla, a close ally of Pedro Sánchez, hinted that Sánchez will not back down and will hold on until 2027. And it is becoming increasingly clear that for Sánchez, remaining in the presidency is a matter of survival, because they don't just want to oust him, they want to imprison him. In this sense, the conviction of the Attorney General was a sufficiently successful dress rehearsal.

Underlying this is a constant political gridlock, due to a lack of political will to reach agreements. Don't miss this page:

There will also be no budget from the Generalitat in 2026.Yesterday they were extended. Look at this list: the last ones approved were in 2023. Since 2010, 15 of the 17 Catalan government budgets have been extended or approved late. Here, the political parties are not meeting the needs of the people. And neither has Salvador Illa and his investiture majority (PSC, Esquerra, and Comuns) managed to provide Catalan society with a budget, even if it's a minimum, even if extensions are becoming more frequent.

If we look ahead, in 2026, apart from the financing system, we should see the creation of the joint State-Generalitat commuter rail company and the amnesty. 2026 should be the year that President Puigdemont returns from exile. The Supreme Court is against this return. Some might think that the amnesty is the cause of Sánchez's problems. But more than the cause, the amnesty is the alibi of the Spanish political, media, and judicial right and far right to justify their constant hostility toward Sánchez, because it allows them to proclaim that a president must be overthrown who holds the position because a fugitive, the perpetrator of a coup d'état, invested him in power. Catalonia always serves as an alibi. But the ultimate cause is power, which they must wield for the good of Spain, of course. We have reached the point where being in the opposition is for opportunists, not a temporary position decided by the citizens.

I conclude this last analysis of the year with a look at the world. We continue with a war in Europe, in Ukraine, and there is no end in sight. We see the beginning of some aggression from the United States, which is harassing Venezuela and coveting Greenland. In November there will be midterm elections in the United States, and Trump may campaign with internal and external violence. I only see two temporary obstacles: on July 4th, the Americans will celebrate 250 years of independence, and in July, the World Cup is being held in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. And this should be the year in which Europe defines how it wants to remain a political unit, for our own good and the good of the world.

Now we'll rest for a few days and greet you again next year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.