Eulàlia Vintró – Saturday – 27/06/2020
If we look back over the last decade, it will not be easy to find a decision or political action that responds to the interests and needs of the majority of citizens. In fact, the Government of the Catalonia, Generalitat, has had no interest in developing the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, valuable despite the cuts made in the Congress of Deputies and the deletions of articles made by the Constitutional Court. Only President Montilla, through a mixed commission with the State, in the few months left in office, tried to obtain some result, without success, and President Mas also proposed a new tax system that was also not accepted. From here, the option for independence made any attempt to apply the various improvements contained in the Statute useless and it was necessary to put all efforts into a Catalan constituent process.
Everyone knows where we are and where this route has led us. Today, however, the situation has reached the limit since the health, labor, social and economic results of the pandemic fall on a territory where for many years there has been no government to govern, where no action plans or projects have been developed, or reflections on current and foreseeable problems, under the illusion that all difficulties will be solved, miraculously, once independence has been achieved.
The seriousness of the current moment means that it is not possible to continue with the story of the future fantasy, without a calendar, without legal guarantees and without international support. The increase in social inequalities, unemployment, the closing of companies and shops as well as the non-return of the thousands of companies that left Catalonia are causing a worrying increase in poverty that, in the autumn, could generate social conflicts.
It is urgent to dissolve the Parliament
It is urgent, therefore, to dissolve the Parliament and call elections so that it is the citizens who designate their representatives and a new government. A government that will face a series of challenges that are not easy to tackle and even less to solve, but which must be approached with rigor, knowledge and prospects for progress.
The first is to put all people at the center of government attention and action. Any government, beyond its voters, has to govern for all citizens. The second is to deal with concrete and perceptible measures to address the health deficits of the pandemic and its socio-economic and labor consequences.
The third is to reactivate the dialogue with the State Government on relations between Catalonia and Spain. The fourth is to address fundamental changes in the economic model in force until now, taking into account the serious crisis in the global environment. The fifth is to maintain a fluid, respectful and collaborative relationship with the rest of Spain and its governments, starting with that of the State. The sixth, to review and modify, if necessary, all the legislation that has become obsolete or inadequate at present. Seventh, ‘last but not least’, adapt the financing in the Statute and create the shared Tax Agency.
It is not everything, but it is a lot, and the voters will have to think about whether they choose those who have led us here or if we must choose other options with more will and ability to take on these challenges.
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