From fires to the far right: Illa draws on summer lessons to address the upcoming political year

HarnessThe summer has left a handful of political lessons that Salvador Illa's government wants to take note of to start the new year well. To this end, the president and the ministers traveled to Arnes (Terra Alta) this Friday for a workshop to reflect on what the priorities should be in the coming months, beyond the pressures from ERC regarding one-off financing and those from Comuns amb la Vivienda (Commons with Housing). One issue on the list has risen in popularity. after the catastrophic fires in western Spain and in the south of France: fire prevention and forest management. The episodes of Islamophobia in Torre Pacheco and Jumella (Murcia), stirred by the far right, also concern the government, which is calling for a shift away from tension and a return to "balanced" political debate.

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, placed special emphasis on these two issues in his opening speech at the first working meeting of the government, held at the Hotel Vilar Rural in Arnes. Just as he did during the fire in Paüls, which destroyed 3,300 hectares and left one firefighter dead, Isla vowed to provide more "education" on the need to reduce the forest cover in Catalonia, which stands at 65%. "There is too much forest. There is much less than there was eleven years ago. We have to find a different way," he said in an address without questions from the media. In Catalonia, this summer the fires have wreaked havoc not only on Paüls but also on La Segarra: Both areas have already been declared catastrophic by the State.

The Government sees economic activity in rural areas as an ally in driving this paradigm shift to prevent fires. The Catalan government wants to take advantage of the coexistence to Arnes to work on a proposal, with joint meetings between departments, and begin outlining the measures he will propose at the next Conference of Presidents in view of the state pact against climate change that Pedro Sánchez wants to promote. Neither the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, nor the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, will be present in Arnes, as they are "unwell," according to sources within the Government.

In his speech, Illa also took aim at the PP. for having made fires a new casus belli against the Spanish government, renouncing the regional powers and accusing the State of failing to assume responsibility. "Ours is a multi-level, composite state, and there's no other way to do things," said Illa, who insisted that Catalonia is very clear that it wants to exercise its powers.

The conclusion of the PSC's first secretary, then, is that the school year begins "very politically" and with a very complex international situation, with Europe searching for its place in the new geopolitical order while watching "dramatically" the genocide in Gaza continue. In light of this, he called for "radicalism but with values" and for confronting the far right with a discourse that emphasizes that every citizen has duties but also rights. "We pray to the God we pray to," said Isla, who also mentioned the "worrying episodes" for "religious and linguistic rights" experienced during the summer. The latter is a reference to the case of the ice cream shop in Gràcia that refused to serve a customer in Catalan. On Tuesday, Catalan government spokesperson and regional minister, Silvia Paneque, defended the right (recognized by law) to service in Catalan, but rejected boycotts with "acts of force" against offending businesses.

Management and amnesty

Faithful to the philosophy that the socialists have implemented since they arrived at the Generalitat, Isla also wanted to underline his commitment to "management", heart of his 2024 election campaign. He has failed to pass a budget in his first year in office, but he has passed additional credits, which, with the help of the votes of the ERC and Comuns parties, the Ministry of Economy has injected an extra 4 billion euros into the public accounts to deploy new policies in infrastructure, energy, and housing. The Government's objective is to maximize this budget in the four months remaining until the end of the year, a task it must carry out in parallel with the negotiation of the new budget for 2026. The Government approved the budget at the first meeting of the executive council after the holidays. A decree law negotiated with the Republicans to advance the construction of the Catalan Treasury. Now, regarding the new financing model, the hottest issue is still in the pipeline, and there is still no specificity (or timeline) regarding the legal changes that would need to be pushed through Congress to make it effective.

Finally, and as he has done in each of his key interventions since becoming president, Illa has asked that this political year be the one in which the amnesty is finally applied to the leaders of the Process who still have pending cases due to the Supreme Court's refusal to enforce the judicial amnesty. This is the case of exiles, such as former president Carles Puigdemont and former minister Lluís Puig, but also of leaders convicted (and disqualified) for embezzlement, such as the leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras. The political year will begin anew without Puigdemont and Puig being able to take their seats in Parliament.

Together sees "propaganda"

Juntos still has to decide whether, upon his return, Puigdemont will take over as leader of the opposition in Isla's government. For now, he continues to claim to be the only alternative to the PSC government. and has already been removed from the budget negotiations for 2026In a video released by the party, the spokesperson for the regional council members in the Parliament, Mònica Sales, accused the government of starting the school year with "the same old propaganda," attempting to travel to Terres de l'Ebre to "cover up" the fact that its policy "is aimed at the Barcelona of five million" and not the Catalonia of eight million. For Sales, the government is neglecting the problems facing commuter trains and the education system, reaching September "without a budget forecast" or showing any interest in showing up in Madrid to denounce the fiscal deficit or the lack of state investment in Catalonia.