The Catalan Parliament welcomed this Tuesday Vice President of the Parliament and PSC MP David Pérez, who has been on leave for a year and attended his first plenary session today after receiving a heart transplant. In a speech, he thanked his colleagues who have expressed their concern for his health and made a plea in defense of public healthcare. He also called for continued work to ensure that more people in Catalonia become organ donors. "I'm here because of the generosity of a family," he said. "And from now on, as always, let's fight in committee!" Also returning from leave for health reasons were the leader of the Commons, Jéssica Albiach, and Junts MP Joaquim Calatayud, whom Rull also welcomed.
The Catalan legislature
Commuter Lines, TV3, and Gaza: Parliament resumes government control after the holidays
The Catalan parliament holds a minute of silence in memory of the victims of Gaza, at the proposal of the PSC, Esquerra, Comuns, and the CUP.
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BarcelonaThe Parliament resumed plenary sessions this Tuesday after a two-month summer hiatus. The outages and incidents on the commuter rail network, the government's position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the latest controversies with 3Cat—from the name change of the corporation's channels to the new one—have been a major issue. Bestial Sunday program—focused their questions on the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who had a taste of the parliamentary exam he will have to face next week, with the general policy debate. At the proposal of the PSC, Esquerra, Comuns and the CUP, the plenary session began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the genocide in Gaza, from which Vox and Aliança were absent. The PP and Aliança protested the text, while Junts justified its support for the proposal, although it did not sign it, because, in its opinion, it did not include a condemnation of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
After a week focused on the failed transfer of immigration powers to the GeneralitatAfter being overturned by the PP, Vox, and Podemos, Junts has continued its strategy of highlighting the "denationalization" of the Catalan government by focusing on TV3. The group's president, Albert Batet, declared that "TV3 is the tip of the iceberg of a strategy" to "dismantle Catalonia" and its "key tools for preserving national identity." "Catalan society no longer recognizes itself in TV3 or some of its programs," he lamented. Therefore, he has demanded that Isla make a "rectification" and has supported the proposal of the councilors appointed at the suggestion of the councilors to the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA), who have requested an extraordinary council meeting to address the situation. Along the same lines, the spokesperson, Mònica Sales, lamented the "banishment" of the language by the PSC, as in the La Mercè fireworks.
However, the president has claimed that "Catalan national television" is "at the service of the entire country" and has stated that he has "nothing to rectify because it does not respond to any decision he has made," appealing in this regard to the governing bodies of the media.
Waiting for the budgets
The Government is currently finalizing the draft budget with the hope of soon beginning contacts with ERC and Comuns, but none of the three negotiating parties raised the topic during the session. The president of ERC in the Parliament, Josep Maria Jové, once again demanded that Isla roll up her sleeves to implement investments that the Socialists, from the Ministry of Transport, have been postponing for years, with the closure of the R3 line between Parets and La Garriga next week being a prime example. "There is room for improvement, and the Government is eager for Renfe and Adif to appeal," the president acknowledged.
For its part, the Commons has asked the Government to take three measures to put pressure on Netanyahu's government: sever all relations between the Generalitat and Israeli companies, move to ban companies "complicit" in the genocide from the Barcelona Fair, and speak with sports federations to exclude sports federations. In fact, Albiach has explicitly asked Barça, with this Tuesday's Euroleague game against Hapoel Tel Aviv, to take that position. In response to the Commons and the CUP, which also attacked the peace plan sponsored by Donald Trump, Illa reiterated his commitment to a "stable peace" based on a two-state solution, lamenting the West's "double standards" with Gaza.
Vox and Alianza, against immigration
Vox and Alianza not only agreed on leaving the plenary session to avoid the minute of silence against the genocide in Gaza, but they also monopolized the anti-immigration discourse. Ignacio Garriga and Sílvia Orriols made harsh accusations against "the Catalonia of ten million," "Islamization," and the supposedly rampant insecurity that they linked to new arrivals. Orriols even called for elections, while Isla predicted a "failure" for his political project. The Popular Party, on the other hand, criticized Isla for his "lies," ranging from his rejection of the amnesty, his support for Hard Rock and the Cuarto Cinturón (Fourth Belt), to his criticism of Pere Aragonès for the failed call for competitive examinations, a fact that has been repeated this term. They also criticized the government for having joined the "socialist trend" of governing without a budget. "You can manage and govern without budgets... It's not appropriate, but it can be done," admitted Economy Minister Alícia Romero.
Return of David Pérez
