The political context
Just before the extraordinary meeting of the Government to approve the budget project for 2024, President Pere Aragonès appeared from the Gothic Gallery. With the support of the PSC, he has appealed to the commons to approve the accounts because they are better than the previous ones.
President Aragonès has remarked that the new budgets do not include any euro or any measure linked to the Hard Rock, which is the red line that the formation led by Jéssica Albiach has set.
The accounts are not yet guaranteed to be processed or approved. The commons have marked an insurmountable red line: that Aragonès discard the urban master plan (PDU) that would make the Hard Rock possible. Without this, they say, there will be no accounts.
The president’s arguments
President Aragonès has emphasized that the budget is an opportunity to realize widely shared demands and improve the lives of citizens. He emphasized the need to take a step forward and stated that the accounts are the best tool to make the most of the available resources.
Aragonès stressed that more resources than ever have been mobilized to build hospitals, schools and infrastructure. Despite the fiscal deficit, he has stated that the budgets are the best possible.
Budget details
The budgets for 2024 have a value of 43.7 billion euros, the highest in history. They prioritize social and business areas, with the aim of hiring health professionals, reducing waiting lists and promoting educational improvements.
The project also seeks to promote reindustrialization and research. Quim Nadal, Councilor for Research and Universities, was present at the Gothic Gallery together with Natàlia Mas, the head of Economics who worked on the budgets.
The political context
The negotiation between ERC and Junts to form a Government after the last elections has been complex. The first budgets were already approved with the support of the commons, and Junts’ departure from the executive has changed the political dynamics.
Now, the PSC appears as an ally of the Government in accounts that no longer contain any political annex on national horizons or major projects such as a referendum. This stage change has solidified pending amnesty.