ERC pressures Yolanda Díaz in the negotiations of the Catalan budgets
The members of the Commons are upset with the pressure exerted by ERC on the leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, in relation to the negotiations to approve the Catalan budgets. These negotiations have been stalled for weeks due to the Hard Rock project. Jéssica Albiach, president of the Catalunya En Comú parliamentary group, has suggested that the Republicans have contacted the vice president of the Spanish government to force them to renounce her opposition to the macrocasino, under the threat of not approving the Spanish budgets. Albiach has made it clear that they are willing to negotiate, but not to be blackmailed.
ERC’s position and the uncertainty about the budgets
The leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, had previously stated that his party did not guarantee its support for the budgets being prepared by the Spanish government. According to Junqueras, they will make decisions that they consider best for society based on the proposal presented. Moncloa, which until now had remained silent, was already counting on the resistance of Junts to process the budgets. However, the tough negotiations between ERC and Junts, in competition to obtain more concessions from Madrid, put the approval of the legislature’s first budgets at risk.
The importance of the decision in Catalonia
Jéssica Albiach has emphasized that the decision on the Hard Rock project and the Catalan budgets must be made in Catalonia. She has expressed her concern and disappointment over ERC’s subservient attitude towards the PSC, accusing them of hiding behind excuses. Albiach has made it clear that the stoppage of the Hard Rock project is a decision that depends on the Generalitat and that, if Pere Aragonès does not want to assume this demand, he can always seek support from Junts. Furthermore, she recalled that the president of the Generalitat has been aware for months that his party would not approve the budgets while the casino’s urban plan is in the process of being processed (https://parafrasear.org/).
The position of the Commons and its political future
The Commons, who see the possibility of forming part of the Barcelona City Council government as increasingly distant, do not have many incentives to support Pere Aragonès’ budgets one year before the Parliamentary elections. These elections will be crucial for the political survival of the party. Jéssica Albiach has offered her support to the Catalan government in the event that the legislature ends with extended budgets, ensuring that they will vote in favor of all the credit extensions necessary to fulfill the commitments made with teachers, health workers and social agents. Although she has warned that the accounts presented in Parliament are unambitious, she has affirmed that they will approve positive measures for the country.
