"Since this plenary session will be broadcast online and can be seen by everyone around the world, and surely many Venezuelans in South America, I will say it in Spanish: From Juntos we celebrate the fall of Mr. Maduro..." Jordi Puigneró, deputy mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès and former vice president of the Catalan government, justified his switch to Catalan last Friday during the January plenary session. Since then, Puigneró has faced a barrage of criticism on social media for refusing to present his arguments in Catalan. This Tuesday, the Catalan Minister of Language Policy, Francesc Xavier Vila, seized on the situation, pointing out the double standards of the Junts party: "When push comes to shove, the standards they apply to themselves are more lenient than those they demand of others."

More doubts than certainties. This is the initial sensation left by Pedro Sánchez's announcement this Tuesday about the gratuity of travelcards for state-run commuter and mid-distance trains, from September 1 until December 31. The measure has taken users, the Generalitat and the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) – which sets the prices for integrated fares in Catalonia – by surprise. The measure, which will be financed with an extraordinary loan, arrived with very little details and no specifics about how the fare will be rolled out in practice to the network of different fare options and tickets that coexist in the public transport system. It should also be remembered that only a week ago the Spanish government had already announced a 50% reduction in season tickets, which will now be extended to full gratuity for state-run trains.

Before bringing the Catalangate crisis to a close, the Generalitat and the Spanish government have clashed again over another major controversy: the State's investment deficit in Catalonia, which a report by the Ministry of Finance has uncovered. This Wednesday Catalan president Pere Aragonès, the vice-president Jordi Puigneró, and Spanish Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez all met to discuss the matter. Although the meeting was not on their agenda, all three coincided in the presentation of a new Google office in Barcelona.

Catalangate has opened a new crack in the always delicate relations between the Generalitat and the Spanish government. The espionage case has multiple repercussions and, in the sphere of the Catalan Government, the main conflict that it leaves open is whether it makes sense or not to continue with the dialogue table in the face of this new crisis. Catalan president Pere Aragonès appeared this Tuesday afternoon to address the case. He did so to warn Spanish President Pedro Sánchez that the case could have "important and immediate political consequences" if he does not give explanations and if he does not seek out those responsible. Aragonès did not consider the dialogue table between governments dead, but admitted that relations are once again strained.

While waiting for the president of the Spanish government or a minister to make a statement, its delegate in Catalonia, Teresa Cunillera, has assured that former superintendent José Manuel Villarejo "has no credibility" after he linked the Spanish National Intelligence Centre (CNI) with the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in August 2017. "He has a long history of trying to sow shadows of suspicion without ever providing evidence," she denounced in a press conference, where she insisted that "the insinuations have no logical or material basis." "There is no other explanation than the desire to stir trouble", she continued. Cunillera also regretted that Villarejo is given credibility by some and has addressed the Catalan government especially to ask it "not to play [Villarejo's] game" because in Catalonia "there is no need for tension". "To what extent do we want to make a lie big and give credibility to those who accuse without evidence?" he asked. He also demanded "respect" for the victims and the investigation that was made of the facts.

The walls of the building are pristine white. Once you pass through an entrance crowned by a lone tree and a flag of Catalonia you arrive at the main hall, which is quite large and covered with a gray carpet. Through a skylight there is a panoramic view of the mountain of Montserrat, while if you follow the stairs to the second floor you will come across a large fish tank with no fish in it.

The negotiating table is not part of Pedro Sánchez's priorities and he does not hide it. In his 2021 balance speech he only referred to it when asked by journalists and he did it to downplay its urgency, and he did not mention it on Friday during the Socialist Party's federal committee. Using the management of the pandemic as a shield, the Spanish president has again refused on Monday to set a date for the new meeting between the Generalitat and the State so as not to "tie himself up", as he argued in an interview with Cadena SER. But he has assured, however, that the table will be convened at least twice this 2022. ERC, meanwhile, continues to press for the meeting to be "as soon as possible", despite the fact that it wants to avoid a new controversy over dates.

The Catalan government has made a strong statement on its rail policy: "This will be the legislature of the transfer and improvements in commuter trains and we have decided to start with Lleida". That's how clear the vice-president and minister for Digital Policies, Infrastructures and Urban Agenda, Jordi Puigneró, was after the cabinet meeting this Tuesday. The Government has announced its decision to take over the management of the regional train line R12, to Lleida –operated by Renfe–, from 2024. "We will transform the R12 regional line, which links Lleida with Cervera and Cervera with Manresa, into two commuter lines managed by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), the RL3 and RL4," explained Puigneró, who assured that the Generalitat has the capacity to do so.

The day after the independence movement split in Parliament in the general policy debate came the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the Independence Referendum. The Government spoke from La Maternità in Barcelona, and it was over in five minutes. It was enough, however, to take on the commitment of avoiding a repetition of what happened yesterday in the house. Thus, the executive pledged to recover "the spirit of 1st October", that is, the unity between parties and organisations to make that vote possible. With what objective? For Catalonia to vote again in a referendum. "It is the inevitable solution," said the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès.

Since the elections on 14-F, the pro-independence movement has more deputies than ever in Parliament (74) and it takes pride of having overcome the barrier of 50% of votes for the first time, but until today all this has not translated into a greater political unity of the movement or more stability of the Government. The general policy debate, which begins this Tuesday and will last until Thursday, will be a re-examination the state of the question: do ERC, JxCat and the CUP have a common denominator which will allow them to move forward effectively? The beginning of the parliamentary political year – it will be the first plenary session since the summer break – will allow a calculation of the possibilities of understanding for the next four years. The debate will also reveal to what extent the Socialists and En Comú want to get involved in Catalan governability, especially when it comes to negotiating the Generalitat's budgets, which loom ahead.

The resumption of the negotiating table starts off on the wrong foot, at least as far as the Catalan delegation is concerned. This morning Together for Cataloina (JxCat) has revealed the members of its delegation, but names it proposed have not pleased its coalition partner, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). JxCat's proposal is that their representatives at tomorrow's meeting are the vice president of the Generalitat, Jordi Puigneró; the secretary general of JxCat, Jordi Sànchez; the party's vice president, Jordi Turull; and their spokeswoman in the Spanish parliament, Miriam Nogueras. ERC is annoyed by two issues: first, that three of the four members are not part of the Catalan Government; and second, that the names have been made public before a private agreement between the parties was reached at the meeting of the executive council on Tuesday. ERC's irritation is such that the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has told JxCat he rejects the proposed names. Later, in an appearance from the Palau de la Generalitat, the president explained that he will leave JxCat out of the negotiating table as long as it includes delegates who are not part of the cabinet. The new government already has its first major crisis.

Jordi Puigneró (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1974) has assumed the vice-presidency of the Government in an unexpected way. He heads the sensitivity of JxCat in the executive.

In the end, the vice-president of the Catalan Government Jordi Puigneró has decided that he will not attend the dinner organised by the Cercle d'Economia in Barcelona on Wednesday at which the king will also be present. The final decision has caused surprise because the spokeswoman of the Government, Patrícia Plaja, had announced just this Tuesday at noon that Puigneró had been picked to go to the appointment in representation of the Government.

After taking office on Monday, Pere Aragonès is officially the 132nd president of the Catalan government. Now it will be the ministers turn to officially take office this Wednesday. Aragonès will lead an executive with 14 Departments, over half of which (8) will be led by women. This is also a thoroughly renovated government, with only Teresa Jordà, Jordi Puigneró and Aragonès staying on in the cabinet.