Salvador Illa is just a few days away from becoming the next president of the Generalitat. The PSC executive met this morning to approve the two pre-agreements for investiture that the socialists have reached with ERC and with the Comuns and whose bases have endorsed these last few days. This was the last procedure that remained pending for the socialist candidate before being able to communicate to the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, his intention to present himself to the investiture debate with a majority of 68 votes guaranteed.
For his part, Rull has already announced that in the next few hours he will contact the PSC, ERC and the Comuns in order to begin the round of contacts on Monday. Although this procedure can be done online, Rull has preferred to do it in person, which could lengthen the deadlines.
If the agendas of all parties are scheduled for the same Monday, Rull should call the Permanent Deputation meeting on Tuesday at the earliest. Once this has been done, the plenary session must be called 24 hours in advance, which means that it will be held on Wednesday 7 August at the latest.
Barring any last-minute surprises, Illa will assume the presidency next week. The only thing that could alter this path is the Republican Youth, who will decide on Monday how their deputy will vote and who, if they vote negatively, could cause Illa to lose the majority. But ERC sources have assured that they are calm and point out that the JERC will not go against what was decided by the Republican bases. “I am convinced that we will have an agreement,” said ERC leader Marta Rovira on Friday.
Thus, with -almost- all the obstacles overcome, Salvador Illa confesses to being “happy, content and hopeful” about the investiture agreements that, he says, consolidate a “socialist, solvent, ambitious and transparent” project.
The PSC candidate is aware that the agreements – which were approved by the Republican party by a narrow margin, with only 53.5% of the votes – arouse certain misgivings among the rank and file of ERC and the Comuns. For this reason, he wanted to make it clear that, although there may be “inconveniences, difficulties and unforeseen issues”, his commitment is to “fully comply with all the points of the two agreements”.
Illa has insisted that these are not agreements “against anyone”, in reference to the letter published in X by Puigdemont, in which he assures that the investiture pact makes his arrest a “real option within a few days”. Also in reference to all the voices – both from the PSOE and from outside – that consider that the singular financing of Catalonia will be an insult to the rest of the autonomous communities.
“It is an agreement to improve our funding without harming anyone, maintaining criteria of solidarity,” insisted Illa, who wanted to make clear that “no one” ever asked them to do without solidarity. “We are three left-wing parties. We understand what solidarity is, while we know that Catalonia has the right to unique funding.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
