And it has come to pass. The Socialist governments – of Catalonia and of Spain– were given a generous mandate, and even the Popular Party made slight gains. Of course, citizens have the right to vote as they please. We simply want to point out that what we predicted has happened and it was all too easy to foresee. It is a prophecy fulfilled. As we announced, Spain’s conclusion, not to mention the political and administrative arena of Madrid – without distinction– is: “The Catalans can be mistreated, they can be derided, they can be deceived, and nothing will happen”. And since March 9th they have been doing exactly that to us, starting with the Generalitat. And now they are meddling with the system of financing the autonomies.
It is not a question of recriminating each other more than necessary. We merely say that we will never have the clout to gain their respect if we thank them every time they whip us.
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And now it has reached a point that even the most hardened sceptic had not envisaged. Not even those nearest to the governing Socialist party and the Spanish Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero himself. Not even the Catalan president Montilla had foreseen it. Now we hear it is not the time to speak of financing, whatever the Statute of Catalonia enshrines. All those who oppose the reviewing the current system with transparency and objectivity, all those who embrace the notion that “solidarity must be practised with third party assets” – a Socialist remark– or that “you are right, the system is unfair to the Catalans, but that’s the way it suits us and that’s all”, – A Popular Party utterance–, now say, departing from what the Law, that this will be discussed at a later date. And they have the nerve to defend this stance by appealing to responsibility: “be responsible”. They say this to a country and to various political forces that have gone out of their way to prove their understanding, their loyalty and their responsibility.
They argue that there is an economic downturn, and that all discussion about reviewing the system should be postponed until who knows when. Establishing from the outset, from the Socialist and the Popular Party-run autonomous communities to the deputy prime ministers De la Vega and Solbes, negative conditions for Catalonia
Is there really an economic crisis? We believed it was already beginning to show, yet the prime minister, Rodríguez Zapatero, enraged, told us it was not true and to make such claims was unpatriotic. They maintain they cannot improve the financing, because they have to tackle the crisis, yet they silence what for years they have denied to admit, that if such surpluses exist it is in large part because with the current system, economic growth has benefited the central coffers – for example, Social Security–, but it has harmed the autonomies, and especially Catalonia, which has had to meet new and growing social needs. However, this and many other arguments aside, there is one: the law is the law, and the Statue of Catalonia is also the law. And it must be upheld. It is a legal requirement. It would be a proof of seriousness, which is beginning to lack in Spanish politics.
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In recent discussions there have been two opposing points of view. A negative one that came in a speech by the former Spanish Prime Minister, Felipe González. An unfortunate speech. He knows, and we know he knows, that the funding to the Generalitat is unfair. And that the concept of solidarity as it is applied at present is foul. He also knows that when there is less money to allocate as in recent years, less is allocated to all, but this does not mean the modifying of system cannot be discussed, when it is legally and ethically due.
Mr González should consult his former adviser on these issues in the Moncloa, Mr Antoni Zabalza, who has been quoted as saying that the current system, as it is applied, brings “the central state coffers to a surplus” and that “something is amiss, and that something is not the running of the autonomous governments”. And all of this has particularly negative repercussions for Catalonia, due to her social and demographic structure, the economic role that she is expected to exercise, and her specific circumstances that are not common to all the autonomies.
It is positive, by contrast, that President Montilla has spoken with clarity, frankness and convincing arguments to Messrs Rodríguez Zapatero, Felipe González, Chaves, etc. If this frankness is maintained, and the initial impetus does not wane, maybe, even if unwillingly, in many parts of Spain – and in the PSOE and the PP– they will have to review polices that no longer respond to justice or even to solidarity.
