Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'The president wants to compete with Madrid'
Leaving aside the fact that the world is very big and doesn't end in Madrid, fighting for leadership in the Spanish capital is reminiscent of the competition half a century ago to see who had the most registered cars. Those days are long gone.
President Isla is in Madrid today, where he is introducing his acquaintance to Spain. plan for Catalonia to once again lead the Spanish economyThe conference is titled "Catalonia leads. An economic model of shared prosperity." which is the plan to allocate 18 billion euros to investments over five years, from 2025 to 2030, so that Catalonia once again becomes the economic engine of Spain.
In this regard, some considerations: we've already said that Catalonia remains the economic engine of Spain. Just look at the rending of garments when it comes to considering a financing model that's fair to the fiscal effort we make in Catalonia. Where does this "return to being" come from? Well, in 2023, Madrid contributed 19.6% of Spanish GDP, and Catalonia 18.8%. Catalonia fell to this second position in 2017. It's hard for Madrid not to be ahead when it benefits from the capital effect, when all trains and highways pass through Madrid, when more than 100% of planned investments are executed. Just look at how Madrid has emptied all of Spain within a radius of 300 or 400 kilometers.
Isla's approach wants to be skillful: competing with Madrid means that Catalonia returns to Spain, that Catalonia has a Spanish horizon of comparison, and saying that you want shared growth is a way ofaccuse Ayuso of being unsupportive while you say that your growth doesn't threaten anyone because everyone will be able to benefit from it.
The reality is very different: radial Spain, the fact that the Mediterranean Corridor is not yet finished, for example, are not coincidences: The State plans Spain with a Madrid-centric visionListen to the tone in which Transport Minister Óscar Puente speaks about commuter rail, while booing Catalan deputies.
"In the face of this torrent of events related to railway vandalism, I miss some condemnation from someone in Catalonia. I want to remind you... yes, yes, it seems you don't care; I want to remind you that more than half of the acts of vandalism that occur on the entire Spanish railway network occur in Barcelona, due to the works in Roda de Berà, and it seemed as if the world was ending. We have spent 30 million euros on an alternative transport plan that was also not enough, in other words: explain to us what you prefer, that we cut and work or that we work while we are providing the service? Because this is an important discussion, I think it should.
You have to have a real nerve to say we weren't happy with the bus plan: if they don't even know how to make a plan to provide service during construction work that isn't the result of any emergency, but they themselves know when it starts and ends, why are they calling? And what does it mean?we have spent"No, no, we spent it ourselves. It's tax money that should now be used to remedy the lack of investment over many years. And the vandalism. When users have no information, when the screens go black, when a woman falls onto the track because the platform is dark, when the trains are so full that they can't be closed, fears? Don't paint them. Instead of showing empathy for the thousands of users whose timetables are destroyed every day, they speak with arrogance.
Leaving aside the fact that the world is very big and doesn't end in Madrid, vying for leadership in the state capital is reminiscent of the competition half a century ago to see who had the most registered cars. Those days are long gone.
Good morning.
