Salvador Illa promises to pass a law protecting whistleblowers this year.

BarcelonaOn the same day that the Supreme Court was reviewing Santos Cerdán's imprisonment—still without a final decision—Salvador Illa appeared before the full Parliament to explain himself. He did so at the request of Junts, PP, and Vox, who asked the Socialist leader to explain whether he has any connection to the plot. The president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) has disassociated himself and the Catalan government from the Cerdán case. "There is no connection whatsoever with the government or with me," he asserted. Isla once again called for "the case to be brought to a conclusion": "That all responsibilities be investigated [...] Whoever is affected, whoever falls." The Catalan president also used the appearance to make a promise: to pass the law protecting whistleblowers against corruption this year. "No one should be afraid to report," he argued.

This is one of the measures Isla announced this Tuesday before the Parliament as a demonstration of her commitment to combating any corrupt practices. She also included another measure that the Government explained this Monday within the plan to reform public administration: regulate the figure of the professional public manager. A proposal that should end the discretion that parties have when it comes to choosing the people who occupy the directorships and deputy directorships general of the Government.

The president also took up the gauntlet previously thrown down by the leader of Junts in the Parliament, Albert Batet, and assured that the Government "will study" whether to appear as a private prosecutor in the alleged case of illegal commission collection affecting the construction of the Sant Feliu de Llobre station. "It directly affects Catalonia and they must act," Batet had asked, referring to the Government. The deputy from the Catalan government had also demanded "guarantees" from Isla that neither he nor the Catalan Socialist ministers had "knowledge or connection" with this case.

Isla insists that he does not know Chili

In the last control sessions in the chamber, the leader of the PP,Alejandro Fernández had tried to link Isla to the caseArguing that his name appears in the audio recordings due to his alleged conversations with Chili. Juntos used this very issue to begin their intervention, defending Isla's appearance. "We won't do the 'You have a problem and your name is Chili,'" stated Albert Batet. Isla once again denied knowing him. "I don't know who he is, I have no fucking idea," he stated, before explaining that he has no contact with Signal that would make such claims. "My conscience is completely clear about my actions. Everything that was done at that time has been scrutinized and investigated," he added.

The regional government officials also delved into the close relationship between Isla and Sánchez. The group's spokesperson, Mònica Sales, criticized the Catalan prime minister for going to the Moncloa Palace "to try to save the PSOE from collapse," referring to the meeting between Sánchez and Isla in the midst of the Cerdán case. "I went to see him, yes. We have the right to meet with other leaders. In a context like this, it's normal for me to have a meeting with the Prime Minister; you shouldn't be surprised that I didn't," Illa replied. At the time, the government sold the idea that at that meeting, both prime ministers had agreed that the bid for a European AI gigafactory would go to Móra la Nova and avoided explaining that they had also discussed the party's crisis over the Cerdán case.

ERC and Comuns link the legislature to the developments in the Cerdán case.

The investiture partners, ERC and Comuns, took advantage of the appearance to once again issue a warning: if the Cerdán case escalates, their support for the Catalan and Spanish governments is jeopardized. "Only if they manage to stop this bloodbath will they be able to see their term advance, here and there," warned the leader of ERC in the Parliament, Josep Maria Jové. In fact, the Republican deputy asked the president to explain what he will do "if one of his own is implicated": "We want a forceful response."

"The ball is in your court to decide whether the term has a long way to go here and in Madrid," added Comuns spokesperson David Cid. The deputy, in this regard, asserted that they will not encourage a PP-Vox government, but set two conditions: "That this case does not escalate further" and that irregular financing of the PSOE cannot be proven. Cyd has also demanded measures against corruption, such as the whistleblower law, which they will demand for a hypothetical future budget.

CUP MP Laia Estrada, for her part, took aim at both the PSOE and the PP. "No one believes that Sánchez didn't know what his right-hand man was doing," she stated, before comparing him to Mr. Rajoy. Estrada also demanded that the Catalan government stop hiring "corrupt companies." On the other side of the political spectrum, Sílvia Orriols, of the Catalan Alliance, issued a warning to the Socialists: "Since he won't pay for corruption in court, we expect him to pay for it at the ballot box."

The PP holds Isla "politically responsible."

The leader of the People's Party (PP), Alejandro Fernández, aware that the Montoro case is now also weighing on them, wanted to begin his speech with a warning. "The fan of 'And you more' will be of no use to you. Let each one take the blame for his own death. But in the Koldo case, it's his death, not mine," he stated. Fernández accused Isla of "allowing" Koldo and Ábalos to "enter the kitchen of the Ministry" of Health that Isla headed. "No one entered the kitchen of the Ministry of Health," Isla replied, denying any "overpricing" on face masks while he was minister. An accusation also made by the leader of Vox, Ignacio Garriga, when he introduced them as Isla's "bosses": "You can't distance yourself from them." Alejandro Fernández ended up holding the president "politically" responsible despite admitting that he has not been charged with any crime.