Together compares Isla to Trump and maintains distance from the Catalan government: "He's leaving Catalonia in a coma."

BarcelonaOn the second day of the general policy debate, the opposition attacked President Salvador Illa's speech on Tuesday. The management of the Socialist executive was the focus of Junts in a harsh intervention by its president in the chamber, Albert Batet, which demonstrated the continued distance from the Catalan government. The main opposition party accused the president of the Generalitat of being "a great anesthetizer" and of leaving Catalonia "in a state of coma" and "in the ICU," but warned him that "Catalonia will wake up." The Junts leader's monitoring of the situation did not only involve criticism. The "irresponsible" housing promise for more than 200,000 apartments -which he has asserted he doesn't believe and has compared it to the functioning of the commuter train system-, the state of infrastructure and education, or the "denationalization" of the country; Batet has also stated that the executive "neither functions nor has the strength to govern" because it is "a government without a budget." At this point, he directly compared Isla to the president of the United States: "Donald Trump also governs like this and he is not the best example," he retorted.

In this sense, he also pointed out that the government puts "the social contract in danger" due to the state of public services, which "opens the doors to magical solutions from populisms of both extremes." However, the comparison with the American president, with a marked far-right profile, has angered the president: "It hurt me a little that you compared me to Trump because I don't want to have anything to do with him," Isla made clear in her reply. In fact, the head of the Catalan government has commented that he has never doubted Junts' "deeply democratic credentials" and has demanded the same consideration for the PSC.

Batet also took issue with the president for the "provincialism" he believes the executive practices. Isla countered by advocating for international travel and using Jordi Pujol as an example in this field. "I was the first Spanish political leader to meet with the head of state," he said, referring to his meeting with the Pope last week. But this response is what endorsed, according to Batet, the "provincialization" thesis because "he said he was the first Spaniard" to meet with Leo XIV and not a Catalan. A "provincialization" that Batet has seasoned with the "loyalty" and "submission" that he believes Isla has toward the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez.

In his response, the president of the Generalitat (Catalan government) reproached Puigdemont's party for saying that the state of education and healthcare "is not a product" of his government, but rather "of how things have gone in recent years." He also defended his relationship with Sánchez, among other things because "a progressive coalition government is the best thing that can happen to Catalonia right now." And he once again emphasized his position with the amnesty: "We all know who is messing with this issue and who is hindering them."

Junts' diagnosis also pointed to the "collapse of social services," the fact that the executive has "damaged the social elevator," in its opinion, in addition to promoting "national liquidation." He also commented that "the economy is creaking," that "GDP per capita is falling" and is far behind Madrid, that Barcelona is "growing more" than the rest of the country, and that "public services are faltering." Batet clarified that services "are not designed for eight million inhabitants," but for six, and again denounced the "fiscal deficit," the 20 billion euros that the Principality is losing in favor of territorial solidarity. This is a reason to demand economic agreement, which will be debated in a proposed resolution.

The Brussels agreement

For this reason, he has pressured the president to speak out, not only on the agreement, but also on the pact with the PSOE for Sánchez's investiture, the Brussels agreement. "The PSC must clarify what Salvador Illa we have, the Island that demonstrates with the PP and Vox against October 1st [...] or what has signed the agreement with the PSOE that recognizes that there is repression and lawfare". The preamble to the agreement will be translated into a proposed resolution to analyze the Socialists' "double standards."

Another criticism from the regional council members has been the Government's pact with the CUP on housing - "with the extremes," according to Batet, predicting "failure" like the one he attributes to Barcelona. Comuns: "Mrs. Albiach and Mr. Cid [leaders of Comuns] command more than any minister," affirmed Cid and Albiach, who made themselves heard from their seats. He asked Batet for a "good opposition." After his forceful speech, the regional council leader repeated that the government's weakness, without a budget, was already evident during the investiture because the agreements were not "for the legislature." The responsibility for accessing the presidency of the Generalitat in this way is solely his," he reiterated.