The Government of Pedro Sánchez imposes a new model of regional financing with 90% of the affected communities against it for the first time in democracy. Thus, it fulfills the commitment with the leader of Esquerra, Oriol Junqueras, and the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, while representatives of the rest of the communities and the two autonomous cities protest against the new system for considering it unfair.
The Government forced this decision in the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), which brings together the heads of Finance of the State and its communities. A sign of what happened is the satisfaction expressed by the finance minister of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Alicia Romero, in contrast to the distress of her counterpart from Ceuta, Kissy Chandiramani. She protested because, besides the new model being negative for her city, she claims she is not receiving the extra funding needed for the current crisis it suffers: «They have skimped on all kinds of resources».
With its attitude, Sánchez’s Government places the socialist deputies from the 13 regions that voted against in a critical position for when the model reaches Parliament. In particular, those from Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias, whose socialist governments voted against on Friday for considering the new system «regressive».
«It is a historic day,» said the Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, at the end of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council. And indeed, it is, but in terms different from his version. It is the first of the four reforms that the regional financing model has undergone since 1986 that a government dares to impose with the majority of those affected against it. Not even in the very controversial 2009 model was there a vote like this Friday’s, in which two communities, Catalonia and the Canary Islands, voted in favor, and 13 against, in addition to the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. This represents 90% of the common regime ones.
The peculiar voting system of the CPFF allows the central Government to pass any vote with just one community, but none had dared to take advantage of this rule until Pedro Sánchez’s current government.
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The finance minister of the Generalitat of Catalonia thanked Minister España behind closed doors for his «courage» and highlighted that the new system leaves 4.7 billion more annually in Catalan coffers. The Canary Islands government maintains that its «singularity» is recognized for the first time and doubles the initial forecast of the model’s author, María Jesús Montero.
They are the ones who declare themselves winners. The rest are on the losing side. According to consulted attendees, there was a downpour of interventions against the ministers present, Arcadi España and Ángel Víctor Torres. The finance minister of La Rioja, Alfonso Domínguez, was eloquent: «Representatives of 36 million Spaniards vote against the new model». He also included the Community of Madrid, although its finance minister, Rocío Albert, did not attend. She is against it but defended that it was better not to go to avoid a quorum. Her attempt to boycott was not supported because the rest of the PP autonomous communities did not consider it effective, as the minister could consider the process completed anyway, in their opinion.
Yesterday’s vote is not decisive, but the one that will take place in Parliament, and there it may fail, because Junts announced on Friday a «total amendment». It demands that Catalonia obtain more and reach a regime like the Basque Country’s foral system. The Minister of Finance only accepts for now adding an extra fund to try to attract other communities. The finance minister of Andalusia, Carolina España, declared herself confident that what was approved yesterday will amount to nothing. And if approved, several autonomous communities threaten to go to court.
The Minister of Finance avoided criticizing the socialist ministers and focused on those of the PP, whom he accused of having no common proposal and submitting to Génova when, for example, he believes that Andalusia or Murcia are particularly benefited by the model. The finance minister of Murcia, Marisa López Aragón, denies it: «It is clear that he did not want to negotiate, only to fulfill the pacts with those who keep Sánchez in power. With this model, the Region of Murcia consolidates itself on the podium of the worst financed».
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