To begin, two notes on Catalan-Spanish politics. This afternoon, Parliament may censure Minister Paneque for the Commuter Rail system, if the resolutions presented in this regard by Junts, Esquerra, and the CUP are successful. The censure of a minister doesn't mean she has to give in; it's merely a stain on the record of Isla's government. I believe this parliamentary move is a mistake, both premature and unfair. Premature because Paneque has proven to be on top of the problem. And unfair because the bulk of the problem is Renfe, Adif, Minister Puente, and Spain. Now, Paneque must confront Renfe and Adif; confronting them means taking their eyes off the stairs and elevators that don't work, with broken trains, and achieving immediate improvements to what can be improved immediately, and that it doesn't require "patience" (as the minister requested) to see it resolved. If the stairs, elevators, cleaning, and trains of the Generalitat Railways are decent, why can't the State Railways be the same?

The appearance this Monday of former PP deputy leader and former Defense Minister María Dolores de Cospedal and former Catalan PP president Alicia Sánchez-Camacho before the commission of inquiry into Operation Catalunya leaves a taste of helplessness due to the shamelessness shown by the two PP politicians in the face of the evidence against them. One can greatly distrust José Manuel Villarejo's motivations, but it is difficult to doubt the veracity of his recordings. And they expose both.