Why financing is a ticking time bomb for Feijóo

BarcelonaAt the meeting of males The PP's usual reaction this Sunday is to light one or more candles to some saint they're devoted to, hoping that Junts will derail the financing agreement between the PSOE and ERC. Because if, for some reason, it were to be approved and implemented next year, it would also set off a ticking time bomb for Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Let's see why.

First of all, it's become quite clear this week that, if the new system is approved, only Catalonia and perhaps Asturias would adopt it. It's unthinkable that the autonomous communities that have vehemently opposed a model agreed upon with the separatists would then agree to have their picture taken with María Jesús Montero at a bilateral commission to sign up. And that's exactly what Feijóo will ask them to do: that no one budges. But of course, in return, he'll have to make commitments to his own party. males to approve a new financing system as soon as he arrives at Moncloa Palace.

Now, let's consider the scenario where the system comes into effect and in 2027 the expected €4.7 billion more arrives for Catalonia, while the rest remain the same. And let's also accept that the PP wins the elections in the summer of that same year and can form a government with Vox. The pressure from the males To approve a new system will be extremely difficult, and of course, the starting point must be the current system, that is, the one that transfers 21 billion euros from the State to the autonomous communities. Feijóo is condemned to improve this figure, because after Sánchez has offered 4.8 billion euros to Andalusia, the new Popular Party president can't just come in and offer, say, 3.5 billion. The same applies to the 3.6 billion promised to the Valencian Community, the 2.55 billion to Madrid, or the 1.2 billion to Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha. Where would Feijóo get the money? How would he convince his Vox partners, who precisely want to dismantle the autonomous system? If he didn't, the embarrassment would be monumental. And the PSOE would have a ready-made opposition. A bombshell, indeed. The rule of the 'status quo'

In the case of Catalonia, moreover, there would be no possibility of reversing course; that is, the 4,700 euros could not be withdrawn because there is an unwritten rule stipulating that no autonomous community can lose a single euro with a change of model. Hence, María Jesús Montero has been forced to create a fund of status quo to compensate the Autonomous Communities that, with the new adjusted population criteria, were entitled to fewer resources than under the previous model. This is the case for Extremadura and Cantabria.

It can be argued that the problem will persist even if the system is not approved, and this is partly true, because the strength of the PSOE/ERC proposal is that it presents concrete figures. However, there is a difference: if it is approved, the urgency of adopting a new model will be much greater, because in the meantime, Catalonia would indeed hold a privileged position as the sole beneficiary.

The details

Ricard Pérez Casado died on Wednesday. He was considered by many to be the creator of modern Valencia, having served as mayor of the city between 1979 and 1989. Thanks to his vision, projects such as the landscaping of the Turia riverbed, the Palace of Music, the naturalization of El Saler, and the Alb Natural Park were successfully implemented.

The People's Party (PP) tweeted on Thursday following the presentation of the new regional financing system at the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), showing all the autonomous communities in red except Catalonia (the only one that supported the government) and the Basque Country and Navarre (which are not part of the common system). The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) seized the opportunity to respond: "What we see on this map are three different countries. When will we move from colors to action?"