The PSOE-ERC-PSC agreement for a supposed new financing model is a prime example of the current political reality in Catalonia. Or, to put it more accurately: of the current state of affairs. Firstly, because in our country, both from the mainstream media and from those who always prioritize stability—even above their own economic interests—the agreement has been presented as a fait accompli, when in reality it is nothing more than a highly improbable possibility. In other words, ERC and PSOE have counted their chickens before they hatched, counting on anyone who denounces them paying a high price.
In fact, since 2017 we have been feeding on broken promises, half-truths, and frustrated desires. Negotiations have been accepted from prison and exile, under threats and harsh sentences, relying on an ephemeral and transitory force born almost by chance, and always with their hands tied. This has been the case with the amnesty, with Renfe, with the Catalan language in Europe, with the publication of the fiscal balances, and with a long list of commitments, culminating now in the hypothetical tax model. That's why government agreements here and there have long been considered settled without any need to be fulfilled. Making a pact with someone knowing beforehand that fulfillment is beyond their control inevitably leads to this unrealistic outcome of unrealizable agreements.
The second major political unreality revealed by this agreement on the financing model—which, I insist, isn't even an agreement among all those who must decide on and abide by it, much less constitute a new model—is the supposed reconciliation between Catalonia and Spain led by Presidents Sánchez and Illa. The reactions it has provoked clearly show that anyone seeking Spanish-Catalan harmony should first look for it in Spain, not here. The most direct expression—the most populist, yes, but no less forceful for that—of the true state of "friendly" relations between the two sides comes from Carolina España, the Andalusian Minister of Economy: "What Montero wants is to give champagne and caviar to the separatists, and to the rest of the autonomous communities and the Spanish people, the daily menu, but without dessert, and what's worse, a menu pre-cooked by the separatists." That "Spain is robbing us" seems like a caress compared to this "Gourmet Catalonia is stuffing itself while we're getting flatulence."
A third unreality also becomes apparent when it comes to clarifying precisely what should be the most factual and least debatable part of the agreement: the numbers, the clear accounts. It turns out that the extra 4.7 billion they claim could arrive, since it won't be taken from anyone—"everyone wins"—means that we will have largely already paid for it ourselves, in advance, in the form of a fiscal deficit or, in the future, through public debt. Furthermore, lacking updated fiscal balances, we cannot compare its effects. Likewise, the ordinality—which could be achieved in 2027—is not explicitly guaranteed beyond that date in the model. The cost of living is also not taken into account, nor is it known how the "adjusted population"—that is, adjusted to its size—will be calculated, an unrealistic assumption that will ignore the actual population. In short, even the part that should be measurable is a jumble of words that each person can interpret—and believe—as they see fit.
But the Montero-Junqueras agreement reveals yet another dose of profound political unreality. Given where we've come from and the accumulated experience we carry with us, at this point, distrust should be the most sensible perspective from which to interpret this agreement. And therefore, since we already know ourselves, intuition should be our most reliable guide. Let's imagine, for a moment, that the agreement does indeed promise a little more bread for today, although probably much more hunger for tomorrow. Even in a fit of delusion, let's suppose that the Spanish-Catalan concord manages to prevail against VOX, the PP, the PSOE of Pepe Blanco and Emiliano García-Page, and even Junts. Let's even accept that finally, in one of those dramatic twists that Pedro Sánchez knows how to orchestrate just before falling off the cliff, the update of the old model is approved in the Spanish Parliament. What is the probability that it will actually be implemented? How long will it take to be taken to the Constitutional Court? And who will govern Spain then? Or who will govern Catalonia?
I don't know if they're counting on the majority of Catalans remaining anesthetized for much longer by the occupiers' condescending rhetoric, if they think we'll eternally resign ourselves to living amidst so much unreality, or if we'll turn a blind eye to this next swindle. Call me a dreamer, but the idea that we'll resign ourselves to living forever in this political unreality seems to me an unsustainable and highly improbable fiction.
