Small uncomfortable truths (2)

1. The core of the transaction between Junts and the PSOE to facilitate Pedro Sánchez's investiture was the amnesty, which has finally materialized after great struggle and effort. The agreement unleashed a wave of resentment the likes of which had never been seen in Madrid (we, however, already knew it well enough here). Judges, economic powers, media outlets, and all the levers of the deep state reacted to the offense by orchestrating a major hunting operation against the Spanish Prime Minister and his inner circle. Finally, in an ending worthy of a Greek tragedy, Sánchez has ended up struck down by those who had been giving him oxygen for more than three years. What is my assessment of it all? Junts has squandered a truly historic opportunity to assert the country's interests instead of focusing everything on the restitution of grievances for the victims of the 'Procés'. Both causes were legitimate, of course, but priorities had to be chosen. And the facts are stubborn: it is either one thing or the other. With a government on the horizon in which the PP and Vox will have a comfortable majority, we can already forget for many years about better financing, the forgiveness of part of the FLA debt, transparency in fiscal balances, and necessary investments in infrastructure. Nothing at all will remain.

2. Who can speak to the citizens today, looking them in the eye, about independence as an achievable goal? Even in Aliança Catalana, the idea has been buried, hidden under the anti-immigration and anti-political establishment discourse. The debates in the country are now others: housing, underfunding, education, or public transport. The “common sense” voters who remained in Junts –those who, like in the old Convergència, understood sovereignty as an instrument to improve well-being and not as a dogma– are now seeking pragmatic refuge (in ERC or the PSC), while the more identitarian sectors look towards AC. And in Junts, at a time when pragmatism versus the rhetoric of confrontation and the “current mandate” are like oil and water, which voter is left to turn to?

3. After the police beat up a Barça fan who was carrying an 'estelada' flag, the club decided to hold an act of exaltation for this flag at the next match. Unfortunately, all too often the club I love avoids real commitments and prefers to opt for innocuous posturing. In more than fifty years as a member, I am still waiting for a clear, serious, and decisive institutional commitment to the Catalan language. We complain—often with good reason—about the guy at the fish market or the doctor at our local health center when they serve us in Spanish. But what about the players and coaches? Where are Messi, Flick, Lewandowski, or Pedri (insert whichever names you like) answering press conferences in the country's language? Would it be so difficult for Barça to implement an authentic linguistic integration policy for its—so well-paid—athletes and staff, before pinning cardboard patriotic medals on itself?

4. Who evaluates our teachers? The mess of the sample in the latest PISA tests has spared us, at least temporarily, from the shame of seeing the results of Catalan students in black and white. The machinery of looking for culprits to explain the educational decline has been running at full capacity for a long time. The usual suspect number one has been technology (the digitalization of classrooms and screens), now embodied in an artificial intelligence that is blamed for all evils. The lack of investment, immigration, or the hangover from the pandemic have completed the list of accomplices. But what about teaching? Would it make any sense to open the can of worms and evaluate the pedagogical competence not only of the students, but also of the teachers?

5. The Government of the Generalitat has approved a project to professionalize high-ranking administrative positions. We certainly need a legal framework that makes public service attractive to professionals from the private sector. We also need department management to be oriented towards achieving results. And competitive remuneration, along with seven-year terms, distanced from electoral fluctuations. However, among the novelties, the regulation provides that up to fifteen percent of the salary will depend on the fulfillment of measurable and previously set objectives. This is the only point that makes me frown, for two reasons. The first: experience tells me that, in general, a person is hardworking, responsible, and efficient – or they are not – regardless of whether a bonus awaits them at the end of the year; the commitment of the most brilliant collaborators I have ever known has not depended on that. The second: accumulated empirical evidence shows that the impact of economic incentives on the actual performance of public managers is irrelevant or, even worse, often counterproductive.