Mas hopes to reach agreement with parties and pro-indy organizations "in just a few days"

Artur Mas, President of the Generalitat, has presented the Advisory Council for Economic Reactivation and Growth (CAREC, in Catalan), as well as other advisory councils to the Govern, as an example that "to bring together very diverse people, who do not think exactly alike and who could have different views and sensibilities, but who are able to work together for one objective, is mature and modern and good for Catalonia". In a presentation of the volume containing the reports by CAREC, Mas made this implicit reference to the ongoing negotiations between the parties and separatist organizations to devise a joint candidacy for the 27-S elections. Of these conversations, Mas has said that he expects an agreement within just a few days.

The Advisory Council for Economic Reactivation and Growth has collected in book form the twenty-four reports that it has published in the last four and a half years, and presented it on Friday to the president of the Generalitat. Mas took advantage of the event to highlight the work of this and the rest of the government’s advisory councils, which "overcome this image some have of our country as a land of cliques". In these types of organizations, he said, a "very diverse" group of people work, with "different sensibilities", but are able to work in the same direction. "I appreciate this good example, because you provide a good message and you are a good reference for the Catalonia of today and of the future", he concluded.

He also praised the work of the Advisory Council for the National Transition, which has made a "very good roadmap of what the first years in Catalonia should be like if its people want to have all of the instruments that sovereign states have". He referred specifically to its president, also a commissioner, and joked that he was now "suspended" by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

Mas made this implicit reference to the negotiations for a joint list, but later he referred to it more directly when he admitted that Catalonia is now entering into a phase whose ending is unknown. "We´ll see what kind of government we have and what composition it will have. That’s now in discussion, I hope for just a few days", he said. In any case, he added that he hopes that the government to come will continue the work of the advisory councils, because they are an example of a "modern and mature" country.

The president took the opportunity to remember that this Friday is the fifth anniversary of the demonstration following the ruling on the Catalan Statute, a few weeks after CiU voted in favor of the Spanish austerity measures and thus prevented a bailout of the country. "Now some boast about having prevented Spain from being bailed out, but the origin was our vote of support", he noted.

Concerned about Colau in Barcelona

Mas reviewed the Catalan economic situation, the recovery from the recession, and different indicators that place Catalonia at the forefront of growth in Spain and Europe. He emphasized the work that Barcelona has done in this field, and said that he hopes that it "will not lose steam in this regard". He acknowledged that he views "with concern" the fact that Manuela Carmena, mayor of Madrid, has opted for tourism while Ada Colau has suspended the concession of new tourist licenses in the Catalan capital. "Let’s not lose sight of the big picture", he asked.

For his part, Salvador Alemany, president of CAREC, lauded the work done by this advisory council, and indicated that their intention was to create documents that are "propositional more than philosophical". "We didn’t try to see what an imaginary country on an imaginary planet in a utopian ideal would be", he remarked. Alemany indicated that it is not that they are tired, but they see the current moment as a "turning point, the end of a stage", and they prefer to give way to another advisory council that would replace them for the next phase.

The Minister of Economy and Knowledge, Andreu Mas-Colell, said that one of the strong points of CAREC has been that it has made clear proposals, with no ambiguous positions, and gave as an example the idea that investment projects must be accompanied by a cost-benefit study, a proposal that the Govern has implemented.