Where is the opposition to Illa?

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Good morning,

This week the parade of the new ministers of the Generalitat begins in the Parliament to give an account of their objectives in this legislature. Today the ministers Albert Dalmau (Presidency) and Alicia Romero (Economy and Finance) will make their debut. It will be the moment when they will start in their new role and will begin to get used to the caresses of the opposition members. The socialist group is more alone than one since both Esquerra and the Comunes limited themselves to supporting the investiture of Salvador Illa and did not commit to giving him any other support. Therefore, the socialists start with a certain disadvantage and it is easy for them to be criticized by all the groups in a situation that recalls the one experienced in the previous legislature by Pere Aragonès, once Junts left the Government.

However, in this first month as president, it does not seem that Illa and his government are particularly concerned about the harassing role that the opposition may play. The first plenary session held on September 5 ended with hardly any wear and tear. The style of the new president, who strives to give a sober speech and distance himself from confrontation with his different opponents, has some influence. But perhaps the most decisive factor is the situation experienced by Junts and Esquerra, the two parties that preceded him in the electoral result. Both formations are still digesting the new Catalan political map and are now more interested in addressing their respective congresses than in thinking about parliamentary work.

Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Junts, is in Brussels, awaiting the amnesty and his number two, Jordi Turull, also does not have a place in the Parliament. The responsibility falls on Albert Batet, the president of the parliamentary group, who is holding Puigdemont’s place as interim. At the moment, there does not seem to be much enthusiasm in Junts for taking on the role of head of the opposition, to which they are entitled as a parliamentary position that has been consolidated over the last twenty years. And, in turn, Esquerra is experiencing a crazy crisis with back-and-forth confrontations that make everyone blush. Here is a good summary by Àlex Tort. Nor does it seem that the Republicans are excessively attentive to what happens in the Parliament until they settle their dispute.

This passive attitude could end up being more of a problem than a relief for Illa, if the Republicans remain on the sidelines and do not enter into negotiations on the Catalan government’s budget for next year, with the excuse that they will not have a clear leadership until the party congress scheduled for the end of November.

In these circumstances, the most bitter debate that Illa had was with the leader of the Catalan Alliance, Sílvia Orriols, on the subject of immigration. Illa’s parliamentary weakness may go more unnoticed if the opposition does not make itself felt. What is clear is that this government seems to be sworn to speak positively and avoid aggressive dialectics with its political opponents. Also read this interview by our correspondent in Brussels, Beatriz Navarro, with the Minister of the European Union and Foreign Affairs, Jaume Duch, who avoids all controversy with his usual phlegm, worked on for so many years in European offices. The change in style of the new president is very well explained in this chronicle by Luis B. García. The new Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, received professional training before joining the Barcelona City Council in the Barcelona Global organisation. There, with the help of the enthusiastic Mateu Hernández, they gave a boost to the role of the city with the spirit of their motto: Fem que passi! (Let’s make it happen!). That spirit is what led him to consider a profound reform to modernise the public services of the Generalitat with a fixed idea: not to do any more analysis and foresight, and to get to work.

Illa, guided by this same approach, far removed from the vindictive discourse of his predecessors, will this week be the protagonist of another event that has not been seen in recent years: on Wednesday he will appear at the Zarzuela Palace to be received by the King as the new president of the Generalitat. This has not happened for nine years.

On the other side of Plaça Sant Jaume, Mayor Jaume Collboni is experiencing a similar situation: a minority government and an opposition under construction. Three of his rivals in the last municipal elections have left the plenary session. First it was Ernest Maragall, then Xavier Trias, and this past week Ada Colau took the plunge. The former mayor leaves no one indifferent. Her management has been much discussed by many, but she still has a long list of loyal followers who value her political capital. Therefore, it is not surprising that she leaves the door open to returning in 2027 to try to regain the mayor’s office. The problem is that she leaves her substitute at the head of the BComú group, Janet Sanz, in a secondary position, at the mercy of what the former mayor decides.

Happy week,