Fernando González Urbaneja | The “alcaldada” of the Congress that must be approved this Monday to allow ERC and Junts to form their own parliamentary group, with the economic and parliamentary advantages it entails, will use on this occasion a cruder formula than the previous ones. On other occasions, the number of deputies of the pretender was completed in order to reach the number of deputies foreseen in the regulations…
The reform of embezzlement agreed on Monday between the PSOE and ERC leaves a way open for some pro-independence leaders to avoid prison. Specifically, around 30 defendants accused of the pro-Crime, still awaiting trial, could avoid prison with the new text. These are the group of ex-officials and businessmen close to pro-independence supporters prosecuted by the 13th Court of Instruction of Barcelona for the preparations for the illegal referendum of…
Luis Alcaide | Espionage and misunderstandings between Catalan supporters of Esquerra and Spanish supporters of the PSOE. The Spanish state, like any other, is doing its duty in the face of possible aggressions against its integrity and the liberty of its citizens. The director of the CNI, Paz Esteban, explains herself in the Congress of Deputies. The pro-independence parties and the most left-wing leftists do not quite accept the arguments…
Last year, 5,403 companies moved their headquarters from one Spanish region to another, almost 20% more than in 2020. More than 40% chose Madrid as their destination. Catalonia recorded the largest negative balance with the loss of 348 companies. The exodus of companies from Catalonia to other autonomous communities began in 2012 as a slow trickle. This was the result of the decision of former president Artur Mas to open…
Clemente Polo | Living in Catalonia is becoming increasingly oppressive. Even for those of us who decided one day to pack our bags and move to an Autonomous Community that stood out from the rest for its social and cultural dynamism and its cosmopolitan vocation. When I was offered a place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona after giving a seminar in June 1984, nobody thought to ask me where…
Clemente Polo | Living in Catalonia is becoming increasingly oppressive. Even for those of us who decided one day to pack our bags and move to an Autonomous Community that stood out from the rest for its social and cultural dynamism and its cosmopolitan vocation. When I was offered a place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona after giving a seminar in June 1984, nobody thought to ask me where…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The latest poll published by La Vanguardia shows 39% of Catalans in favour of independence and 53% against. With these figures, it is understandable that ERC is opting for the slow road, to continue to stir up public opinion in order to achieve its goal, to reach its Ithaca. There was also a question on the language spoken at home: Spanish 41%; Catalan 29%; indistinct 30%. Everyone will draw their own conclusions, but the claim that Catalan society is unanimous or clearly in favour of the “indepes” proposals does not enjoy sufficient support. Conllevanza rather than coexistence.
Fernando González Urbaneja | In its day, the Barcelona Fair was the most important in Spain, while Madrid’s IFEMA languished in the Casa de Campo. A visionary president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Adrián Piera, imagined an ambitious IFEMA and the socialist mayor at the time, Tierno Galván, had faith in him (“if you say so, Piera, you’ll be right”). There was more support and competitions, but the Feria…
Within the PSOE itself, critical voices are growing against the pardons that the government intends to grant to the Catalan coup plotters to ensure its continuity. The president of the Junta de Extremadura, the socialist Guillermo Fernández Vara, explained on Wednesday that “it is clear” that “those who do not want to be pardoned should not be pardoned, since they do not respect or believe in the laws that make…
The fact that Pedro Sánchez needs the support of ERC (the party of many of the Catalan politicians imprisoned for sedition) to stay in government, prevents the Prime Minister’s argument from being heeded: “Revenge is not a constitutional value,” he says. The 12 imprisoned pro-independence politicians have refused to request a pardon and have publicly reiterated they would be willing to call an illegal referendum like the one on October,…