Junts' primaries in Barcelona are not only serving to dispute the legacy of former mayor Xavier Trias – who has given explicit support to municipal leader Jordi Martí – but have also consolidated Carles Puigdemont's party to put the pedal to the metal against insecurity in Barcelona. This was evident in the four-way debate on the last day of the primaries campaign, in which topics such as daylight murders, drug trafficking like marijuana, and dirtiness resulting from incivility and drunken tourism were discussed. This weekend, the party's Barcelona militants will decide the mayoral candidate between Jordi Martí, Congresswoman Pilar Calvo – close to the national leadership –, MP and Parliament's table secretary Glòria Freixa – a pragmatic liberal –, and former MP and Puigdemont's former lawyer, Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas.

New revelations from the summary of the Leire Díaz case, the alleged plumber of the PSOE. In this case, about one of the bloodiest affairs of the dirty war against independence during the sovereignty process. The summary of the Leire Díez case includes the audio of a conversation with the former PSOE militant and former number two of minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, Francisco Martínez, where he admits that the report stating that the then mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias had a bank account in Switzerland "was all false" and that the former Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz, was the one who leaked it to media outlets close to the PP. Martínez affirms that the person in charge of drafting the report "invented it all," and describes a system of creating and leaking dossiers against political rivals.

These days when the Mossos are watching the sewers, they will find them very full. Of recordings, for example, like that of a former Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez, who admits to the former PSOE fixer, Leire Díez, that the story of Xavier Trias's account in Andorra was false, invented by a policeman and leaked by the “number 1 leaker, you can imagine who it is. Jorge [Fernández Díaz], he was crazy about leaking [...] she did it talking to the pedrojotas”. They, who wanted to be like Bernstein and Woodward bringing down a president, were not, in reality, more than obedient printers of a minister's toxic merchandise. All for the homeland and for the publishing business, of course; nothing for the truth or for the rule of law. What must the very devout former minister have thought when he heard the Pope saying that “no one can kneel before God and despise his brother”?While Leo XIV was preparing these words, Pedro Sánchez (probably “PS” in the plumber's papers) escaped to Primavera Sound. When they can no longer bear the Madrid that wants to kill them, they take refuge in Catalonia and fill us with clichés: “A way to show the world a Barcelona and a Spain that are open, diverse, and full of energy. [...] Its international success speaks of a plural society that understands culture as a space for meeting, coexistence, and freedom”. It’s been years since we’ve been like this. And we would be even more so if we hadn't had to carry the dirty war and the premeditated disinterest of a useless state that can’t even run its trains on time, a drain of energies and resources, which from time to time uses the brush that Tarradellas spoke of.

Judicially investigating Operation Catalonia has become a utopia. In recent years, victims of the patriotic police have tried their best to bring the leadership of the State's sewers to court, but they have permanently hit a wall. The answer has always been the same: the facts are not a crime and are based on press reports, despite the eloquent audios that attest to them. In recent weeks, however, two windows of opportunity have opened, although the possibilities of an investigation proceeding remain slim. In fact, so far, the only person convicted for Operation Catalonia has been Eugenio Pino, who was deputy operational director (DAO) of the Spanish police, for Jordi Pujol's eldest son's famous USB.

The former mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, does not understand why Junts is sounding out businessman and president of Femcat, Tatxo Benet, to be a candidate in the municipal elections in the Catalan capital. If he accepted the offer, Benet would precisely be Trias's successor, who won the last local elections, even though the votes of the PSC, Comuns, and PP blocked his path to the mayor's office. In statements to Cafè d'Idees on 2Cat, he stressed that he has "personal affection" for Benet, whom he described as "an extraordinary person," although he does not share this electoral path. "I don't understand it," he snapped. Immediately after, Trias speculated about the veracity of the poll, which party sources confirm: "I don't see it, someone has invented something, someone has lost their mind," he concluded.

A new foundation against antisemitism in Catalonia, rife with pro-Israel rhetoric and featuring political figures, has been launched: former French Prime Minister and short-lived city councilor Manuel Valls, who has reappeared as president of the new platform Emet-Verdad (Truth); but also former Barcelona mayor Xavier Trias and Socialist senator Gabriel Colomé, both members of the organization. Emet was presented this Monday in the Saló del Tinell of the Royal Palace of Barcelona, ​​the site of the 1263 Barcelona Disputation on religion between Jewish and Christian scholars, presided over by King James I. Its first act was to pay tribute to journalist and writer Pilar Rahola, whom they described as the person who "milled" (a reference to a specific person who is often criticized for her antisemitism). "My role shouldn't be exceptional," the journalist responded. Valls's impassioned speech, delivered mostly in Spanish, was a highlight of the event, contrasting sharply with the more moderate approach of Trias and Colomé. With a fervent defense of Israel, the Franco-Catalan politician has lashed out against the "massacre" of homosexuals in Gaza and praised the Jewish state as the epitome of "progress," completely ignoring Benjamin Netanyahu. He has also launched a rhetorical war, blaming the left for current antisemitism and stating that "anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism."

Today, the financing model presented by Vice President Montero, which stems from an agreement with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), will be approved by the Council for Fiscal and Financial Policy (comprised of the Minister of Finance and the regional ministers of Economy). However, its approval does not mean it will be implemented immediately, as it will now have to be negotiated in Congress with all parties, and, as you know, the proposal currently lacks the necessary votes. The People's Party (PP) and Vox are fundamentally opposed to the system, while Together for Catalonia (Junts) believes it falls short.

The Junts leadership hasn't budged an inch from its resounding "no" to the proposed new financing model since it was presented last Friday. Without a special economic agreement, Junts members have repeatedly stated, they cannot be counted on. But can Catalonia afford to forgo another 4.7 billion euros? The president of the Junts mayors' council, Xavier Trias, believes it's "almost impossible," even though that amount is insufficient to resolve the structural fiscal deficit the country has suffered for decades. In statements to Coffee of Ideas Speaking on La 2 Cat, Trias warned that the State has always ended up "entangled" the Generalitat - he explained that he had been a victim in other financing negotiations - and that the pact between ERC and PSOE is "a bad agreement", but acknowledged that "perhaps it is the only possible thing".

While Xavier Trias's famous "Que os bombin a todos" still echoes at the moment when Jaume Collboni prevented him from being re-elected as mayor of BarcelonaThanks to the support of Comuns and the PP, Junts has chosen to reward the only mayor from its ranks to have won the Catalan capital. At an event this Saturday, Trias set tasks for the party of former president Carles Puigdemont, with the mission of "generating enthusiasm" and some points that resonate within the current national context, such as the need to work towards making Catalonia "less dependent every day." From the rooftop of the Hotel Pulitzer, Trias, who was installed as president of the newly created advisory council of former mayors, made the following request: "If we ask for the impossible, we won't achieve it."

For years, electoral strategists believed that electoral battles were won in the center. That is, the party that managed to convince the most moderate voters, who were the ones who tipped the balance, won. And that's why they worked hard to find candidates who were flexible enough to please the centrists and not create hostility on both sides. This is what Xavier Trias would call the formula, since the former mayor of Barcelona perfectly represents this type of politician.

Today, Oriol Junqueras and Xavier Trias will testify before the congressional commission on Operation Catalunya. Good luck. You already know that Operation Catalunya is a series of illegal activities organized or protected, tolerated, and ignored by Mariano Rajoy's government, including the fabrication of false evidence, espionage, and the misuse of public funds. And yet, the Spanish justice system hasn't lifted a finger to investigate it, because justice is Spanish before justice.

The last time Oriol Junqueras attended a formal session in Congress was on May 21, 2019, almost six years ago, when he was able to attend the chamber while in pretrial detention to be sworn in as a deputy. It didn't last long, because the Spanish elections were repeated that year and he had already been elected as a MEP. This Monday, he was able to express himself at length in the lower house during his appearance before the commission of inquiry into Operation Catalunya, where he wanted to send a message to the PSOE: "They have the political and moral duty to present to the Prosecutor's Office the conclusions of the evidence provided here and the lies that will be made just [of this, I am convinced."