Antoni Bassas's analysis: 'The miracle that Mas-Colell is asking for'

However serious the world is, with Trump turning the United States into an authoritarian state and pushing the world to unprecedented levels of destabilization, and with the Iranian ayatollahs' regime experiencing a street uprising, we must address what's happening closer to home. And this continues to be, and will continue to be, called funding. Yes, it sounds like a song by that annoying guy, it has elements of... déjà-vu And we're at the top of the street: for the PSC and Esquerra it's the best possible agreement because the concert or something similar was impossible, for Junts it falls short precisely because it's not the concert, the PP (now part of the PSOE, we'll talk about it later) finds it scandalous that the Spanish government decides to share the money of all Spaniards with the Catalan separatists (it doesn't matter, because the Spanish government is also scandalous).

So it seems like everything has been said, but it hasn't. Today we explain the pressure on Junts to sit down and negotiate improvements to what has already been agreed (Junts wants to make a comprehensive amendment.) Would it be possible for Junts to negotiate improvements? Possible, yes, but also difficult. Because the Socialists themselves say that the agreement with Esquerra is very carefully measured, due to the Socialists' red lines. For example, the cost of living, which is higher in Catalonia, won't be factored into the adjusted population calculation. So, I don't know what room they could find.

The issue of money is so sensitive that these days The first internal faction within the PSOE emerges against Pedro Sánchez.Jordi Sevilla, a former minister, is leading a manifesto calling for a change of political direction within the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to free it "from the dictatorship of minorities." Sevilla is the same person who said Catalonia wasn't ready for a president of mixed Catalan and non-Catalan heritage, during José Montilla's time in office. He had to retract his statement and ultimately said of Catalonia: "It's in the 21st century and has given us an example that we, as a whole of Spain, will follow."

In short, we know the funding story by heart: changes to the model are driven by Catalonia, with enormous effort and only when Spanish governments need the votes of Catalan parties. We've been like this for over 330 years, and it's shameful given the tax burden we all bear. The autonomous communities manage healthcare and education, and this costs a lot of money. And the police, in the case of Catalonia. The current system has been outdated for years. It's a disaster.

And in this regard, today we are publishing an article by Professor and former Minister of Education Andreu Mas-Colell, who states that it is in our best interest to end the legislative term with a new funding modelBecause when the PP and Vox enter the picture, there could be "a drastic setback." That's why Mas-Colell is asking Junts to sit down and negotiate, and he does so in almost religious terms: "I pray that a reasonable margin has been set aside so that, with the goodwill of all parties, we can reach an agreement in which all potential votes in favor feel recognized. Amen."

The miracle Mas-Colell is asking for should have happened beforehand. If, as Junts says, and as Esquerra said before, it was necessary to take advantage of Sánchez's dependence on both of them, on such a difficult issue as financing, Esquerra and Junts should have acted together. But we already know that this is impossible because neither party wants to. So we're not surprised by the results.

Good morning.