Isla's peace in a burning Madrid

MadridThe president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, made a statement on Thursday important conference in MadridBut he had to compete with the numerous news fronts that have opened up in recent days. It's also true that news is even more important when it's presented in the form of a conflict, and Isla appeared in the main hall of the Bellas Artes—a prestigious cultural institution—with an open and conciliatory message. It's worthwhile, in any case, that in Catalonia, and not just in the capital, we should take note of the alternative discourse defended before a good handful of ministers, councilors, and businesspeople, with a carefully staged, which has remained an audiovisual record forever. For me, having spent many years as a journalist in Madrid, the importance of this meeting lies in the substantial change in discourse by a president of the Generalitat. It's not necessary to have many statistics at hand to remember that for a long time, unofficial or official visits by the person who is also the highest representative of the State in Catalonia were characterized by messages that were at least of complaint and dissatisfaction. Isla, on the other hand, has made it clear that he wants to take a different approach to institutional relations, and in general to the approach to his presence in Madrid, a concept that goes far beyond the simple naming of a city. Now, what I wonder, very sincerely, is what will come of all this.

I agree that the direction of President Isla's message could hardly be any different. Things are going reasonably well for him, although this year he won't have the tool of a new budget at hand. Neither he nor Pedro Sánchez. But I would say that both have accepted the idea and are content, knowing that this will not prevent them from continuing onward. However, this path is an uphill climb. As for the leader of the Catalan Socialists, suffering will come from all sides, from the right and the left. He has one advantage, and that is that the Spanish government is also majority Socialist, in this case in coalition with Yolanda Díaz's Sumar party, which seems increasingly uneasy with the competition and criticism from Podemos. Isla could profit from his relationship with Sánchez and the central government if it weren't for the fact that those who have a mortgage loan granted to the PSOE leader are the pro-independence parties, who need to keep charging supposedly ever-higher interest rates.

In this context, the most important thing for the Generalitat would be to push through the financing agreement that should involve the implementation of a system similar to that of the Basque Country agreement. This has been discussed since the beginning of the legislature. But it is the government itself that sees it as increasingly complicated. On the other hand, we have already seen that with the PP there are not too many possible coincidences and that its response to any initiative in this area is to oppose it and, if possible, file an appeal in the Constitutional Court. I say this after what happened with the debt forgiveness of the autonomous communitiesFor the government, this proposal was a way to try to pave the way for an agreement in the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council on a review of the regional financing model. But it hasn't achieved that. The outlook, therefore, is bleak. For Isla, the positive side of that coin is that those who will be most disappointed, when the time comes, will be those who voted for Sánchez to become president, thinking that full fiscal sovereignty had been achieved. It would, in any case, be a sad consolation. And if the outlook looks so uncertain, what good will Isla's kind words serve during his visit to Madrid on Thursday?

Collaboration with the State

From the outset, a speech of openness and collaboration with the State, like the one Isla delivered, refreshes and refreshes the atmosphere a bit. It makes everything a little more breathable. On Thursday, I couldn't help but recall the visits to Madrid by Jordi Pujol, Artur Mas, José Montilla, and also Carles Puigdemont, some of them sponsored by Manuela Carmena when she was mayor of Madrid, where she was heavily criticized for lending the city hall's auditorium to pro-independence leaders. For obvious reasons—the National Court still has a trial pending—Illa didn't mention Jordi Pujol last Thursday. From his long period in government, among other things, the expression "fish to the horn" remains, to define the eagerness to increase powers, even accepting those that couldn't bring too many satisfactions, such as those related to prisons. But now we are at a stage where the fish may end up being virtual. It may happen that when someone looks at the bottom of the sack or basket, it turns out there are no fresh fish or anything substantial. We'll see, for example, how the Mossos d'Esquadra's participation in border control fare. You might say I'm overly pessimistic, but recently a veteran Socialist leader reminded me what José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero did after Pasqual Maragall told him at a PSOE federal committee that he should agree to certain concessions to Catalonia because he owed the Catalan Socialists and their voters the success of his victory in the presidency. "Our secretary general," this veteran told me, "didn't contradict Maragall, but that same afternoon he began making calls to one side and another to prevent the situation from getting out of hand."

Despite all the background, I reaffirm that Isla's speech had to be made. We're coming off years of turmoil and upheaval. And the main problem isn't that Sánchez could end up being hampered by Catalonia's demands. The problem is that Isla came to Madrid with a conciliatory message, when it's a time of war around them. Now I'm speaking metaphorically about internal affairs, not the international situation. That same Thursday morning, Congress was on fire, with votes dictated once again by pure tactical thinking. You might tell me that's why a voice was even more needed to re-establish the concept of constitutional loyalty. But we live in a country where there are judges who refuse to apply the law, for example the amnesty law, even though it hasn't yet been declared unconstitutional, and I don't believe it is. Let us have faith, therefore, and let us not despise hope and charity.