Turull (Junts) laments the "government breakdown in Catalonia" and demands comprehensive management of Rodalies
LLEIDA, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
The former president of the Generalitat and leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, accused the current president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, of going to Madrid to, in his words, reassure the powers of the State while Catalonia is "collapsing" with Rodalies.
"Catalonia cannot have a president who, while the country collapses in an essential service that affects tens, hundreds of thousands of its citizens, goes to Madrid to say that everything is working very well," he reproached during his speech at the Junts National Council in Mollerussa (Lleida), referring to Illa’s words at the ‘Catalunya lidera’ conference on Thursday at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid.
In this regard, Puigdemont blamed the head of the Catalan government for going to Madrid "to reassure the powers of the State," assuring them that Catalonia will not disturb Madrid and will further enrich the State, in the words of the Junts leader.
Illa advocated from that conference for his model of, as he put it, shared prosperity, subtly contrasting it with that of the Madrid government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, while also calling on not to be afraid of Catalonia, advocating for restoring a culture of collaboration between the two main communities of Spain.
THE NORMALCY OF THE "PROPAGANDISTS"
The leader of the Junts called for "unmasking the lie of normalcy that they proclaim every day for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, the propagandists, the official ones, and the non-official ones."
Likewise, Puigdemont criticized that the Government of the Generalitat "not only looks more towards Madrid than its citizens but also has councilors who live in Madrid," after reports emerged that the Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion, Mònica Martínez Bravo, splits her residence between the Catalan capital and the Spanish one.
"LOYAL TO THE RED THREAD"
Puigdemont has positioned Junts as an alternative "loyal to the red thread of Catalanism" which, in his opinion, does not deny the Catalan identity to anyone and fights against Catalanophobia without promoting any other form of hatred.
Faced with the "obvious" attacks from both extremes, Puigdemont urged not to get distracted or diminish with controversies that he labeled as absurd, following criticisms the party received for the agreement with the PSOE on immigration and the distribution of minor migrants.
GOVERNMENT DELEGATE
He also defended "preventing a government from appointing a delegate in Northern Catalonia who doesn’t even know where he lives," referring to the controversy surrounding the statements of the Director General of the Casa de la Generalitat in Perpignan (France), Christopher Daniel Person.
During the Parliamentary Committee on Institutional Affairs, Person admitted that he prefers to use the official name of the French State of Pyrénées-Orientales to refer to the region in southern France, rejecting the use of the term "Northern Catalonia."
JORDI TURULL
On the other hand, the Secretary General of Junts, Jordi Turull, affirmed that there is a "government breakdown in Catalonia" and reiterated his mission to change it, referring to the incidents in the Rodalies railway service.
"We don’t want false transfers; we want comprehensive management," he added regarding the transfer of the service to the Generalitat, while also demanding to stop the tricks, following the establishment of a joint venture with Renfe for the transition phase.