Pedro Sánchez requests the support of his party to deepen a federal model that grants more capacity for self-government to all the Autonomous Communities. In the midst of an intense internal debate on the impact of the fiscal pact reached in Catalonia and criticism from several territorial leaders, the President of the Government assured during the Federal Commission of his party that the reform of the financing model that his executive will carry out It will be beneficial for all the territories because it will serve to deepen the public policies defended by the socialists.
“The real debate is not between territories but between models: those who see rights in public services or those who see goods. And we will always defend that health and education, dependency and pensions are rights with which we will never trade,” he said.
Criticism of Catalonia’s “fiscal singularity”
For the first time in a long time, the PSOE Federal Committee has become a forum for intense internal debates and critical voices have transcended the usual voices of the socialist leaders of Castilla-La Mancha and Aragon. At the gates of Ferraz Street, upon their arrival at the conclave, several territorial leaders criticized the reform of the financing system agreed with Esquerra in exchange for the investiture of Salvador Illa as president of the Generalitat.
The hardest were those of Emiliano García-Page. “I come with enormous concern for the country and for the founding values of the left and social democracy. The proposal that I read, which comes from Esquerra, is more selfish than socialist. It is incomprehensible and indefensible,” he exclaimed upon his arrival at the Committee.
A PSOE in waiting
The meeting of the Federal Committee on Saturday took place in an atmosphere of some agitation in the socialist ranks. To the unease of many federations due to the lack of information on the fiscal pact with Catalonia was added last week the change of direction of Pedro Sánchez in his team closest to Moncloa and the convening of a congress that opens the door to very relevant changes both in the party leadership and in the autonomous apparatus.
Since the signing of the investiture agreement of Salvador Illa between the PSC and the ERC, voices have been raised throughout the summer to criticize the hypothesis of privileging the financing of Catalonia over the rest of the Communities. And although other voices have chosen to avoid an explicit rejection in public, the unease about the form and substance of what has been committed to Esquerra is quite general among all the socialist leaderships of the territories.
Aware of this, Sánchez is trying to call for unity in his party and is trying to convey a message of confidence regarding the reform of the financing system that is going to be addressed. The commitment expressed by the president is that this reform will be beneficial for all the Autonomous Communities and that the compensation fund that guarantees interterritorial solidarity will have more resources than ever to alleviate the inequalities between some regions and others. A promise that, however, does not reassure the leaders of the socialist federations for the time being, who are demanding more details in order to be able to educate in their respective territories.
And then there is the chair dancing in Moncloa and Ferraz. This week, the departure of José Luis Escriva from the Executive to become governor of the Bank of Spain was finalized. From the presidential team, the idea is conveyed that the entry of Óscar López into the Council of Ministers means giving the Government the “political pulse of the party”. However, his replacement at the head of the Presidential Cabinet, the current Secretary General of Public Policies, Diego Rubio, has surprised many party officials, who admit that they are now on the lookout for changes that he could introduce in the team closest to the president, someone who has no connection with the Ferraz apparatus.
This week, however, the call for the Federal Congress that will take place at the end of November in Seville was made official. Within the party, it is assumed that the Congress will involve major changes in the party leadership and will open the door to very important renewals that will also be reproduced in subsequent regional congresses.
On the part of Moncloa, they are trying to transmit a message of active government in the face of a lost opposition. “This week we have seen that the course began with the Government pulling itself together and with the PP at the time when it was going on vacation: without direction or project”, underlines the team of the president, where it is emphasized that this week the stage of renewal of the judiciary has materialized and the president has sent a clear message on the continuity of the legislative power.
