Salvador Illa, in Madrid: "Don't be afraid of Catalonia"

MadridIt's been years since a president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) has received such a massive outpouring of support or attracted the attention of so many political and economic powers in Madrid as Salvador Illa did this Thursday at the Círculo de Bellas Artes. The change in era is demonstrated by the fact that previously a head of the Catalan government could travel to the Supreme Court to support those repressed by the Process (Procession), and now even a judge of the Constitutional Court – the Catalan Laura Díez – has attended Isla's conference to display the economic plan with which he wants to make Catalonia a leader in the State"Catalonia's prosperity cannot be understood without Spain," he assured a large gathering of ministers and business leaders, who can now breathe a sigh of relief with the new direction of the Generalitat. "It's time to invest in Catalonia. Investing in Catalonia is investing in a better Spain," the president emphasized.

He had already done so on other occasions, but not with such solemnity and audience: Isla has come to Madrid to scare away the ghosts of the past, to make it clear that he will occupy all possible spaces in the State and to contrast his model with that of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. "Do not be afraid of Catalonia. Catalonia is not afraid of Madrid," affirmed Illa, who described the Madrid president's approach as an "unsupportive accumulation." "The contrast is clear: moving forward with everyone or leaving groups on the sidelines; winning for everyone or just for some; an economic model of rights and duties or an economic model of privileges; public services as investments or reportable expenses; healthcare as a right or a market service; housing as a right or a business; public universities as social elevators or private universities for those who can afford them; generosity or lack of solidarity; solidarity," he added, without renouncing a "constructive" attitude to "overcome mistrust."

The Círculo de Bellas Artes's columned hall was filled with ministers—including Vice Presidents María Jesús Montero and Sara Aagesen, and Ministers Félix Bolaños, Ángel Víctor Torres, and Jordi Hereu; business executives such as Carlos Torres (BBVA), Antoni Brufau (Repsol), and Antonio Llardén (Enagás); the Pimec delegate in Madrid, Ferran Bel; the former leader of CiU in Madrid, Josep Antoni Duran Lleida; and the leader of the CCOO (Working Party of Workers), Unai Sordo. It also included a large delegation from the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)—including the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni—and the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)—the leader in Madrid, Reyes Maroto, for example. Among the pro-independence parties were Senators Eduard Pujol (Junts) and Sara Bailac (ERC). No one from the PP attended.

In the face of all of them, the Catalan president has avoided problems such as the commuter train problem and has celebrated that Catalonia has exceeded 300 billion euros in GDP, as announced this Thursday by Idescat, and predicted that more companies will return to Catalonia in the coming months. "We generate political stability and offer legal certainty," he emphasized. The fact that some Catalan companies have relocated their headquarters is one of the "happiest achievements" of his term, he asserted, and listed the reverse path already taken by Ciments Molins, Banc Sabadell (which had chosen Alicante), the La Caixa Foundation (which had chosen the Balearic Islands), and CriteriaCaixa. Madrid was precisely one of the destinations for around twenty large companies, including Agbar, Abertis, Planeta, Cellnex, and Naturgy.

No meeting with Ayuso

Ayuso had been invited and declined, and the president of the Generalitat will not meet with his Madrid counterpart. His public agenda is limited to this morning's conference and a lunch with business leaders at the American embassy. In fact, since Thursday's control session in the Madrid Assembly, Ayuso has denounced Isla's intention to "laugh at the self-employed" and try to make Madrid companies "do poorly." The government is refusing to completely close the door to a meeting at some point, although it believes Ayuso is only seeking "confrontation," especially given the recent upheavals. for the partial forgiveness of the FLA or the distribution of migrant minorsWhat the Generalitat rules out is the televised face-to-face that the leader of the Madrid PP had requested from Isla to debate "intelligently and clearly" about the singular financing because he sees it as an unserious proposal.

Beyond the differences in fiscal and economic policy, the enmity between Isla and Ayuso dates back to the times of the pandemic, when he was Minister of Health. Ayuso's open war against the Spanish government over lockdowns and the state of alarm still resonates today, with her denying official figures for victims in nursing homes (7,219) of Madrid. The Madrid president has once again picked a fight with Isla over the decision not to send grandparents to hospitals during the worst of COVID-19. Now she's blaming the ministry then headed by the Socialist.