The "communist" government of Salvador Illa

BarcelonaSoviet accounts, a model of country conditioned by the "extreme left" or a government surrendered to "communism". These are some of the qualifications that Junts, PP and Vox have dedicated in recent weeks to the PSC executive following its budget agreement with Comuns, who have extracted from the socialists the commitment to veto speculative housing purchases and go one step further in public intervention in the real estate market. They are variations of a criticism that is gaining more and more strength in the right sector of the hemicycle and that also has its echo in the discourse of Foment del Treball, which has also labeled as "pro-communist" these policies.

On what do Junts, PP and Vox rely to accuse the PSC of having moved to the left of the political board? The first criticism that all three make is that of "drowning" Catalans with taxes. In its first year and a half in government, the PSC has increased taxes on large holders, on luxury housing sales, and has increased the tourist tax, all as a result of agreements with Comuns. Catalonia is the community that leads the creation of its own taxes and the territory where an income of 30,000 euros per year pays more for IRPF, even though, as the Government often recalls, its tax pressure is below the European average.

As the leading opposition party, Junts has taken advantage of the budget negotiation to point to the PSC as the sponsor of the Catalan "tax hell" and to hinder public-private initiatives. "With only six deputies, Comuns impose their model of country. And President Illa has bought it from top to bottom," lament sources from the parliamentary group.

The divergence transcends the field of taxes, which has even left an unusual photograph in Parliament, such as Junqueras voting in favor of a PP proposal to eliminate the inheritance tax. Puigdemont's party accuses the socialists of promoting budgets that favor "social aid" instead of promoting wage increases, unemployment reduction, or economic activity incentives. "Illa has allowed Colau to occupy the Palau," summarized Junts spokesperson Salvador Vergés, one of the most liberal profiles in the group.

PP and Vox add reproaches of "political spending" within the Generalitat on "elephantine" structures, such as, in their opinion, the Catalan public sector or the Government's delegations abroad. This is a position that Junts does not share. In fact, one of the recurring criticisms from Junts to Salvador Illa is his supposed lack of national ambition, as he treats the Generalitat as a "management company".

The fight against inequality

In response, government sources defend themselves by stating that the accounts reflect the Catalan population's demand to make the reduction of poverty and inequality the Government's "priority" and distance themselves from any extreme-left position. "These are budgets designed to improve the quality of life for families and the middle and working classes and to boost the public services that Catalonia deserves," they argue.

From the PSC, they point out something else: that the government of Quim Torra also reached a budget agreement with Comuns in 2019. "It says a lot about who is criticizing that they only attack the who, not the what," comments a socialist deputy. Furthermore, from the PSC group, they emphasize that if tax collection has increased, it is due to the good performance of the Catalan economy, and they insist on the need to "educate" about the need to pay taxes to guarantee quality public services in Catalonia of 8 million.

What does Comuns say?

Before his arrival at the Generalitat, Salvador Illa had faced criticism for the shift to the center that he would have led the PSC: some examples are the alliance with Units per Avançar, the party of former Unió leader Ramon Espadaler, the commitment to large macro-projects such as Hard Rock, the airport expansion, or the B-40. Comuns celebrates that their ideological adversaries help them reinforce what, since the investiture, they have strived to present as their strong point: being able to pull the PSC to the left, especially on housing, by taking advantage of parliamentary arithmetic. "It suits us. It recognizes a key role for us," point out sources from the parliamentary group.