The date, Sant Esteve, and the location, always singular and with its own ‘message’, form the characteristics of the Christmas message of the President of the Generalitat since it Pere Aragones takes the reins of Palace of the Generalitat. The date also allows him an exclusivity – the rest of the regional presidents address their citizens at the end of the year – which makes it easier for the message to reach further and clearer. In this 2022, already free from the yoke of the covid, and in what was the Barcelona Hospital of the Holy Creu (a masterpiece of Catalan civil Gothic) and today, Library of Cataloniathe ‘president’ traced in his speech two big axes, one of the immediate future, the budgets for next year, and another one for the future, as a way of filling in, with the Claredat Acord, one year, the electoral 2023, that seems little given to negotiations and agreements.
The mention of the event that has marked this year that is now ending, the invasion of Ukraine immediately led the ‘president’ to put the question of the Generalitat’s accounts on the table, in full process of negotiation with both the PSC and Junts. Although the hopes of closing a pact with the post-convergents are well below those that the Government has with the Socialists. “The war in Ukraine has resulted in economic difficulties that directly affect the citizens of Catalonia with the increase in the price of energy and the cost of living” and, “for this reason, it is necessary that we have all the tools and all the resources to continue accompanying” the Catalans and the “productive fabric. That is why it is necessary that let’s all live up to it and make it possible to approve the new budget of the Generalitat”, he said.
“I ask the parliamentary groups to be responsible towards citizens and not to delay their decision any longer”
After enumerating the benefits of his budget project and remembering that “for the first time it has been agreed with unions and employers and who receives the explicit support from the third social sector, from farmers’ unions and from the main entities in the world of culture, Aragonès asserted that “the bulk of the work has been done. All we need is political will to make it possible. That is why I ask the parliamentary groups with which it has not yet been possible to reach an agreement [es decir, PSC y Junts] rresponsibility towards the citizens and that they not delay their decision any longer”.
As for the other great axis, that of political conflict between State and Generalitat –the one who has always made the big headline in Christmas speeches since 2012– Aragonès expressed his chest that “it is evident that the dialogue begins to bear fruit. It was said that it was impossible repeal sedition, it was said that it was impossible modify the crime of embezzlement. And today, the crime of sedition for which the political prisoners were convicted no longer exists and many of the aspects of embezzlement that, manipulating the current law, allowed the organization of 1-O to be persecuted”.
Related news
As he has been repeating for a couple of weeks, Aragonès called “open a new phase and find a solution to the political conflict.” “Find a solution to the state’s inability to respond to the vast majority of citizens of Catalonia who want decide democratically. According to the leader of the Executiu, “until do not give an answer, the political conflict will exist. And it is the responsibility of all the parties involved, the Generalitat and the State, to build through dialogue, negotiation and agreement [los tres sustantivos que forman el nombre oficial de la mesa de diálogo] a democratic path, which includes us all.
“Until we give an answer, the political conflict will exist. We must build a path that includes us all”
Aragonès reaffirmed that in “2023 the Generalitat will promote a debate with the whole of society to visualize an agreement” between Catalan parties and civil society “on when should Catalonia be able to exercise the right to decide again, about the conditions under which we should vote again so that this time all parties feel included [Ergo, en el 1-O no sucedió así] and everyone accepts the result”. In summary, Aragonès believes that “2023 should be the year to give shape to the Catalan proposal of Acord de Claredat. A great agreement in Catalonia that offers us all the strength and internal legitimacy to be defended against the state as a country proposal. A great agreement in Catalonia that is internationally comparable and scrupulously democratic”.