The Presidency of the Generalitat
The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has expressed his vision on the Hard Rock project, highlighting its dependence on private investors and disassociating the responsibility of the Government. In an interview at the Cafè d’Idees, Aragonès stressed that the political decision was already taken in 2014, with the majorities at that time, and pointed out that private investors continue to show interest, although he has cooled expectations of that the project progresses in the short term.
The president has tried to distance himself from a controversial infrastructure that does not have the support of the commons, a key party for the approval of budgets. Likewise, he emphasized that the Government’s model is not based exclusively on tourism, but also contemplates investments to deal with the drought and reindustrialize the country.
Aragonès has warned about the possible compensations to investors in the event of slowing down the project, but he has been convinced of obtaining the support of the commons for the budgets, either with these or with other parties such as Junts or the CUP.
Government policies
The president has ruled out a government pact with the PSC, despite the budget agreements, and has expressed his preference for a solo ERC Government. Regarding Junts, he has stated that there are areas in which they agree and he has not ruled out future pacts with this party.
Aragonès highlighted the progress in the independence process, especially in relation to the anti-repressive struggle, which includes the negotiation of an amnesty law in Congress. He stressed the importance of the political agreement in this matter and asked to work on the technical doubts to guarantee its application.
In relation to the dialogue table with the State, Aragonès has expressed his desire to meet it before Easter, highlighting the importance of defining some rules of the game for the celebration of a referendum.
Finally, the president addressed the issue of the drought and the measures taken by the Government to deal with it, including the priority of regenerated water and desalination plants, as well as commitments to farmers to reduce bureaucracy and other measures to support the agricultural sector.