The Catalan Autonomous Budgets

Before talking about the signing of the budget agreement between Illa and Junqueras, this morning we had two bombshell news. The Mossos d'Esquadra have arrested Jonathan Andic, the son of Mango founder Isak Andic, for the death of his father, who died at 71 while hiking in the Salnitre caves. Although initially treated as an accident, a few months ago the Mossos began investigating Andic's son for homicide, who was the only person with whom the businessman was that day. And while we were still processing the news, the political bombshell arrived: Zapatero has been charged with influence peddling, criminal organization, and document forgery in the case of the Plus Ultra airline bailout. The company was bailed out by Sánchez's government during the pandemic with a loan of 53 million euros. Now the National Court is charging Zapatero for having influenced (having received a commission of 10 million, deposited in an account in Panama) this bailout. He has always denied it, and Sánchez has always said the bailout was done correctly. The group that reported Zapatero was the far-right group Manos Limpias. Today, his office was searched, and he will have to appear to testify in 15 days. The first pieces of evidence, which became known this morning when the secrecy of the investigation was lifted, do not seem very solid. He is the first former Spanish president to be charged in Spain (Rajoy has been charged in Andorra). The impact for Sánchez is huge: they are friends, Zapatero supports him - unlike Felipe González -, and if we add to this the result in Andalusia, the funeral in Moncloa continues today. And I would bet anything that within 24 hours someone will remember that Zapatero was negotiating with Puigdemont (like Santos Cerdán). Meanwhile, this morning, at 8 o'clock, President Salvador Illa and Oriol Junqueras were at the Palau de la Generalitat and shook hands again, as a prelude to the photo of the day, that of the signing of the agreement between the Government and Esquerra Republicana by which Junqueras' party will approve the 2026 budgets of Illa's government. These are days of handshakes. Yesterday they already had the first one in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia at the presentation of the orbital train.As always, when a party gives a vote as important as the budget vote to a government, the debate is whether it has settled for little or a lot. Especially since Esquerra is an independentist party and the PSC is not, and it enthusiastically supported 155. Firstly, I think no one should be surprised that Esquerra or Comuns approve accounts for the PSC, because the most important agreement was already made, which is the investiture. If there was any incoherence in ERC's support for the PSC, it was then, not now. I believe that if you vote for someone's investiture, you have an obligation to cooperate with them during the legislature that other parties do not have. Whoever invests is saying they see potential. The fact is that for some time now, we have naturally accepted that, for example, next year there will be no budgets because there are municipal and Spanish elections and, of course, parties cannot support each other. Perhaps this is what is done nowadays, but I find it very selfish on the part of the parties. From this point of view, it is normal for Esquerra to give its vote to the Government. 

What has Esquerra gained? A singular financing agreement that will not be singular. And the orbital train, and control of the Consorci de la Zona Franca. Is it little or is it a lot? It's a bird in the hand. And compared to where Esquerra initially set the bar, it's little. Remember the question the republicans asked the membership in July 2024 to see if they would invest Illa: 

"Do you agree that Esquerra Republicana should vote in favor of the socialist candidate's investiture in exchange for fiscal sovereignty, the promotion and protection of the Catalan language, the National Convention for the resolution of the political conflict, and the rest of the agreed-upon measures?" 

And here we must look both towards ERC and towards the PSC: neither with three governments of the same party (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) nor with the friendship between Illa and Sánchez, nor with Sánchez's desperate situation has been enough to advance in fiscal sovereignty, nor in airport matters, and not much in railway matters. Regional politics gives what it gives.Good morning.