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The consensus path is the one that wins in Catalonia

December 23, 2021

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Esquerra and Junts (pro-independence groups) have ended up bending the knee and have accepted a pact with the socialist PSC (non-pro-independence group). It took a long time, but parliamentary arithmetic was stubborn and if an agreement was not reached, various bodies of the Generalitat would have remained blocked for longer than they already were. The pact involves breaking the bloc policy and it makes perfect sense that these organizations are part of the pro-independence and non-pro-independence groups. The agreements will reach other bodies today such as the Audit Office or the Council of Statutory Guarantees and will help to break that image of a paralyzed government with blocked institutions. Slowly it seems that the path of consensus is imposing itself in Catalonia. The work of the three presidents of the parliamentary groups (Salvador Illa for the PSC, Josep Maria Jové for ERC and Albert Batet for Junts) has borne fruit and this consensus seemed difficult to produce in Catalonia until very recently. It is a clear advance.

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Editorial, La Vanguardia, 23 December 2021

The leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa, together with the president and vice president of the Generalitat, PEre Aragonès and Jordi Puigneró, in the Parliament Enric Fontcuberta / EFE

Esquerra and Junts have ended up bending the knee and have accepted a pact with the PSC. It took a long time, but parliamentary arithmetic was stubborn and if an agreement was not reached, various bodies of the Generalitat would have remained blocked for longer than they already were. The pact involves breaking the bloc policy and it makes perfect sense that these organizations are part of the pro-independence and non-pro-independence groups. It will be said, with good reason, that the three parties have distributed the positions conscientiously and have put like-minded people to control these organizations, especially in the Catalan Broadcasting Corporation, Television and Radio, and in the Audiovisual Council of Catalunia, but the three parties agree on that these entities need a profound transformation that has to be undertaken quickly. The work of the three presidents of the parliamentary groups (Salvador Illa for the PSC, Josep Maria Jové for ERC and Albert Batet for Junts) has borne fruit and this consensus seemed difficult to produce in Catalonia until very recently. It is a clear advance.

The appointment of Esther Giménez-Salinas as the new Trustee as Ombudsman is also good news, although it means the departure of what has surely been the most tenacious and implacable defender of lost causes: Rafael Ribó. The former leader of the PSUC and Iniciativa per Catalunya had his position expired since March 2019 and he could no longer hold it, but he has undoubtedly been a stone in the shoe for many areas of the Generalitat and other administrations due to his exhaustive effort to defend Justice. It is still a coincidence that the news of Ribó’s replacement occurs the same week in which the dismissal of Major José Luis Trapero at the head of Catalan poice, the Mossos d’Esquadra, was known. Ribó and Trapero have a certain parallel due to their strong character and, above all, because they were very uncomfortable positions for the current Government.

The agreements will reach other bodies today such as the Audite Office or the Council of Statutory Guarantees and will help to break that image of a paralyzed government with blocked institutions. Slowly it seems that the path of consensus is imposing itself in Catalonia.

https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20211223/7949042/gana-consenso.html