The Blanquerna darts prize goes to Isabel Díaz Ayuso

MadridThe solemn marble columns inside the Madrid palace where Philip V once lived, the Neptune Palace, They have witnessed the revival of the Blanquerna Prize, awarded by the Generalitat (Catalan government) to individuals from various fields for their "contribution to promoting Catalonia." But also for having forged "ties between Spanish and Catalan society in general, and Madrid society in particular," in the words of Salvador Illa. As of Tuesday, the list of recipients from the past nineteen editions, from Adolfo Suárez in 1994 to Esther Koplowitz in 2008, now includes the poet, critic, professor, and current director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero. Visibly moved when it was his turn to accept the prize, García Montero mentioned all those writers—the vast majority of them men—who have helped him to love and understand Catalan literature and culture. He acknowledged that it has been difficult for him to "accept" the use of mother tongues to politically "inflame" bilingual territories. "I understand the ill intentions behind wanting to reopen wounds and create distance; words have often been used to insult or prohibit."

But with the award's reinstatement, Illa has gone a step further to what he does every time he comes to MadridConfronting Isabel Díaz Ayuso. "Migrants come to improve society, not to clean houses and lay bricks," Illa argued, completely refuting the Madrid president's words this week when she responded to Vox by saying that "someone had to clean their houses and harvest the crops," referring to the foreign population. This wasn't his only barb. "The truth must always be defended, in all circumstances [...] Truth against lies," he asserted. These words conceal a nod to the closing argument of the Attorney General in his trial for the leak of an email from Díaz Ayuso's partner.

Isla was able to do so because, despite playing away from home, he surrounded himself with his inner circle, as he usually does when presiding over an event in the Spanish capital. Among them were Félix Bolaños, Minister of Justice, as well as Secretaries of State and Isla's deputy, Albert Dalmau. All were in the front row, where they could see Josep Maria Pou reciting poems and Paco Ibáñez singing protest songs. Further back, Isla was accompanied by other socialist figures, such as the former mayor and former minister Raquel Sánchez; but also the former Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet. And members of the progressive wing of the General Council of the Judiciary, Argelia Queralt, and of the Constitutional Court, Laura Díez.

With the reinstatement of the Blanquerna Prize – this being its twentieth edition – Illa has resolved an "anomaly." The award had not been given since 2017, coinciding with the peak of the process"It's 'normal,'" commented a voice from the audience. "Normal versus 'noise,'" added the Government Delegate in Madrid, Núria Marín, minutes later during her speech.