Parliament Prepares for Budget Debate
The Catalan Parliament is preparing for a crucial debate on the Generalitat’s budgets for 2024. Next Wednesday, March 13, the chamber will hold the debate on the entire accounts, which requires an absolute majority for its approval.
The government of Pere Aragonès faces an important challenge, since it currently only has the support of the 33 deputies of ERC and the 34 of the PSC. Negotiations with the commons, its priority partner, and with Junts per Catalunya are stalled due to different reasons.
The Search for the Absolute Majority
The Catalan Government is missing two deputies to achieve an absolute majority. He could also opt for the abstention of a parliamentary group, which would allow the budgets to continue processing before their final approval, scheduled for the end of April.
Executive sources are optimistic and believe that a last-minute agreement can be reached. However, both the commoners, who have put the Hard Rock project as a red line, and the juntaires, who oppose the inheritance tax, are not willing to make concessions.
Hard Rock: A Stone in the Road with the Commons
The negotiation between the Aragonès executive and the commons is stalled. The former consider that they cannot paralyze the Hard Rock Urban Master Plan (PDU), the casino macro project in Vila-seca, because they would lose the support of the PSC.
The executive insists that there is no agreement related to the Hard Rock, but this argument does not convince the members, who have registered an amendment to all the accounts and accuse the socialists of conditioning them to the project.
The commons are willing to negotiate until the last moment, but do not contemplate abstention to allow the accounts to continue their processing. Executive sources admit that there is progress on social issues, but the Hard Rock issue remains an insurmountable obstacle.
Compliance with Parliamentary Resolutions
The commons proposed to the executive to apply a resolution approved in the monographic plenary session on the drought to stop the Hard Rock. This resolution requests to paralyze any urban modification that implies water consumption of more than 100 liters per person per day.
Sources from the commons affirm that this issue is conditioning everything and demand that the Government present a response or an approach. However, the executive insists that he has no room for maneuver.
Blocked Negotiation with Junts
Given the difficulties with the commons, the Government tried to approach Junts, but the meetings did not give results. The negotiation is blocked because neither of them is willing to give in on the inheritance tax.
Palau sources accuse Junts of always finding excuses to condition the approval of accounts. For its part, Junts blames the executive for a lack of will and asks for a counterproposal on the inheritance tax.
Early Elections on the Horizon?
Despite the deadlines, the Catalan Government still has a few days to try to close an agreement, especially with the commons. Otherwise, the scenario of early elections cannot be ruled out.
The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has always defended his intention to finish the legislature, but rumors are beginning to circulate that he could call early elections in September, taking advantage of the general policy debate.
The outcome of this budget negotiation will be known on Wednesday or before. The future of the legislature and the approval of the budgets are at stake.
