25/07/2020
A tip to the rest of the autonomous regions: better that they “learn from the mistakes of Catalonia so as not to repeat them”. The Financial Times charges head-on against the Govern de Quim Torra for managing the second wave of Covid-19 outbreaks, understanding that it has dedicated itself to constantly criticizing the Spanish government, without focusing on problems in his own community. He notes “lack of preparedness, complacency, and an inability to trace cases, based on the mistaken belief that there would be plenty of time before a second wave of the virus.”
With the title of “The blame game flares up as Catalonia fights against the second wave of the virus”, the prestigious newspaper specialized in economic information insists on the “false steps and weaknesses” of the Government of the Generalitat. One of the criticisms centers on the Catalan executive’s obsession in transferring the blame to the central government, with a continuous “animosity”, a fact that “would have contributed to the problems”, according to the London-based newspaper.
Little administration
The newspaper is supported by the opinion of Alex Arenas, a research epidemiologist at the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona. The expert considers that the fundamental error has been the lack of foresight of the Health department. “They spent a lot of time making statements to the press and little time managing,” he says, and now they are “facing the consequences.”
Although the opposition was denouncing it, without any reaction from the Govern de Torra, the Financial Times also notes that Catalan Government has vacated the Public Health Secretariat for two months, after the resignation of its manager, Joan Guix. It was not until last week that Josep Maria Argimon was named, and that in the course of an internal fight between the Presidency and the Health department, led by Alba Vergés.
And the Sánchez government?
Despite this criticism of the Government of Torra, The Financial Times also enters into the management of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez and reproaches that Spanish Executive had not given more specific indications to the autonomous governments when it returned the powers to the communities, after the end of the state alarm. He considers that the Spanish Executive should have indicated how many people were necessary to carry out the traces of the infections.
In any case, the newspaper understands that the rest of the Spanish autonomous communities should learn from the “mistakes” of Catalonia in order not to repeat them, in a sign that what is happening in Catalonia is a bad example of management.
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