Elisenda Alamany: "Without funding, the road ahead will be very difficult for Salvador Illa."

BarcelonaElisenda Alamany (Sabadell, 1983) arrives at the ARA determined to raise the tone on the issue of funding, but also to launch her campaign as a mayoral candidate in 2027.

Help us understand where we are in the negotiations for the new financing system. Was the Bilateral Commission the other day a step forward or a step backward?

— It was simply a declaration of intent. Based on a starting point established by ERC, it's true, but with many elements in the air that we consider essential, including ordinality.

Were you surprised that the concept of ordinality disappeared from the document even though it was part of the investiture agreement?

— We had indications that this would ultimately happen. The Socialist Party doesn't understand the country, nor does it understand the existing national impulse. It's unacceptable for a president to defend the interests of the PSOE more than those of its citizens. And I'm sorry, but President Isla demonstrated the same national ambition as any president of an autonomous community. And this is a failure to understand what it means to be a country.

What exactly are they asking of President Isla?

— The Socialist Party went to the bilateral meeting without having done its homework. Then a document was issued that overlooked the main issue: ordinality. Therefore, what is clear is that the PSC, vis-à-vis the PSOE, has renounced representing the ambition we asked of it. From there, our role is to push and continue to pressure for these agreements to be fulfilled, using our levers of strength: our members in Parliament and Congress.

The ordinality, to put it simply, means that if Catalonia is the third contributor, it must be the third recipient. It now moves from third to tenth.

— And if we were to calculate the price differential compared to other territories in the state, we'd still drop to fourteenth. It's very important for people to understand that Catalonia already generates wealth, and what we want is to redistribute it to generate well-being and prosperity. We need to understand why we are pro-independence.

Another aspect of the agreement is tax collection. Experts say that next year it will be impossible for the Catalan Tax Agency to collect 100% of personal income tax.

— We are aware that the agreements we reached are very ambitious and that it is particularly difficult to collect all taxes. Now, firm and decisive steps are needed in this regard, and that depends on the Generalitat (Catalan government), and the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) is dragging its feet on this issue, pushed by ERC (Republican Workers' Party).

Do you think it's possible that before the end of this month there will be an agreement with the PSOE on the legislative changes necessary to collect personal income tax?

— We will not give up on continuing to work in the same direction we had planned. Therefore, there will be a bill that legislatively protects the collection of our taxes. We will push forward, we will lead, we will pressure and push, and hopefully more actors can be added to this defense.

Together, they threatened to cut off funding. Do you believe that threat?

— I'd rather see Junts doing things than criticizing what others do. And it's a habit they've recently acquired. However, I'm convinced that we'll eventually find a way to jointly advocate for national progress, such as new funding for Catalonia.

Would this agreement be easier without María Jesús Montero at the helm of the ministry?

— Yes, and it would also be easier if there were a president in the government of the Generalitat who had more national ambition than the president of Murcia.

To be clear: what happens if the funding issue gets stuck and there's no progress?

— It won't be an easy situation for Mr. Isla. There won't be any new agreements if it isn't resolved because it's a matter of minimum requirements. We already saw this with the budget; without funding, Salvador Illa's path will be very complicated.

What did you think of the indictment of Cristóbal Montoro and his entire team?

— It's Spain. Note that it also seems like a bad joke when tax inspectors tell us that a new, unique financing model would open the door to corruption, only for the former finance minister to prove to us that he was the corrupt one.

Do you think Sánchez will be able to complete his term?

— I think Pedro Sánchez is very worn out, and I think it will be very difficult for him to complete his term.

And you will put many obstacles in his way?

— Pedro Sánchez must comply with ERC and demonstrate that the scandals he has had with them are isolated cases of corruption. We have no interest in the PP and Vox taking office, among other reasons because it would be a tragedy for our country, but that depends more on Sánchez than on ERC.

If we had to set two or three ERC priorities before the end of the Spanish legislature, what would they be?

— The amnesty law and the special funding are. They are the two milestones we have already set for ourselves, and Sánchez will have to respond to them.

Let's talk about Barcelona. Do you want to lead the Esquerra Republicana list in 2027?

— I'll have to go through the processes like any other grassroots activist, but I would like to be mayor to restore the city's balance. I think the last few governments haven't understood the city, its personality, its identity, its character. People are worried that the city is pushing them out, about the depersonalization it suffers. Therefore, the goal is not to be a city of souvenirs, carcasses, and nail salons. We must make Barcelona be Barcelona.

The problem is that people won't stop coming...

— Yes, but since Maragall, the tourism policy implemented in Barcelona has been delegated.

How do you assess your collaboration with Mayor Collboni?

— Collboni came to pacify the city after Colau's term, but there haven't been any great ideas or projects, and here we've seized the opportunity, also because the other political actors have disappeared from the map. We've identified three challenges that we believe are crucial: linguistic emergence, tourism, and access to housing. And so, in this sense, I'm satisfied with the work that Esquerra has done in Barcelona over the last two years.

And, from this point of view, wouldn't it have been better to be directly part of the municipal government?

— We believe that where we are most useful in the city right now is in the opposition.

And after the next elections?

— No one runs for election to avoid governing. In 2027, it will be twenty years since ERC governed Barcelona. And it shows.

How is Esquerra doing after the highly contested congress they had?

— My feeling is that the vast majority of people have moved on and are focused on the challenges they face in the 2027 elections.

How is the investigation into the cartel case going?

— He is still on the Guarantees Commission, one of the party's formal oversight bodies.

But is there a planned timeline, a horizon?

— No. Not yet.

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