The parties criticize Silvia Orriols' inactivity in Parliament.

BarcelonaWith the political year underway and before the Parliament holds its general policy debate, the spokespersons for the parliamentary groups met yesterday in a first political debate organized by RTVE. Budgets, housing issues, and special financing were some of the issues addressed, but the debate also saw the presence, for the first time, of the Catalan Alliance. Its leader, Silvia Orriols, repeated her racist and xenophobic rhetoric, finding only Vox as an ally, while the other groups attempted to combat it. However, where Orriols was more or less cornered was when it came to defending herself against holding two positions, that of deputy and mayor of Ripoll, and not participating in most parliamentary activity.

"I think we all agree that there are some who always leave the chair of the board of spokespersons empty, despite being the spokesperson," began Junts spokesperson Mònica Sales. "She accumulates public offices," continued ERC spokesperson Ester Capella. "She doesn't participate in the Public Health Committee either," added Comuns spokesperson David Cid. "We are two deputies; when we are 19, 20, or older, we'll go all out. I have two positions and only one public salary. Then they'll be hurt that we go all out," Orriols defended herself. The Aliança leader emphasized that she only has one public salary despite holding two positions, which is required by law. "You who talk so much about caste, you are the caste, so you accumulate positions," Cid retorted. "And she gets paid by Parliament," Díaz emphasized, where the salary is higher. Capella, in this regard, criticized her for receiving the salary "that suits her best" despite her inactivity in the Catalan parliament. "They demand the same hours from a group of two people as another group that has more," Orriols retorted.

The criticism of the Aliança leader, however, was also aimed at dismantling her discourse—and that of Vox—on immigration. "How sad that your entire response is that the problem is the people who live in Catalonia. You never go against the big bankers, those who evict Catalans," rebuked CUP spokesperson Laure Vega. Both Orriols and Vox spokesperson Joan Garriga again defended putting up a wall on immigration and expelling those who commit crimes. "I haven't heard that they want to expel Shakira or Messi for tax fraud," Cid retorted. "Who should we expel when committing crimes? Should we deport Fèlix Millet or Jordi Pujol then?" Vega added. At this point, both Mònica Sales and the PSC spokesperson, Elena Díaz, defended the agreement on the transfer of immigration powers, while the PP spokesperson, Juan Fernández, once again rejected it because it "violates national sovereignty": "Catalonia is not ready to assume new powers."

Next year's budget?

One of the challenges the government will face this fall will be attempting to negotiate a budget for next year. For now, both ERC and the Comuns are maintaining their positions. Capella reiterated that without "progress" on financing, they will not negotiate the financial statements, while Cid demanded compliance with the housing agreements before sitting down to discuss the 2026 budget. The government "is complying," Díaz asserted, although she also left open the possibility that Catalonia will not have a budget next year either. "This is not the first time Catalonia has been without a budget. Neither the government nor Catalonia will stop if they don't have a budget," asserted the Socialist spokesperson, who also criticized Junts for having closed the door to discussing the financial statements from the outset.