The Establishment Goes Against Aliança Catalana for Spending an Extra €300 on Campaign

The rise of Aliança Catalana in the polls and the collapse of the pro-independence parties have unleashed nerves in the Catalan establishment. The press friendly to ERC and Junts have put Sílvia Orriols's party in the spotlight. An example is the rise in media outlets like Ara and Vilaweb in regard to information about alleged financial irregularities.

The news is that the court of auditors has detected legal breaches and a possible punishable offense by Sílvia Orriols's party. This was confirmed in its first report on the finances of Aliança Catalana.

Among the breaches is a donation of 500 euros without the donor's identity, and contributions of 3,024.85 euros without documentation. Also, there is an expense of 1,070.14 euros without an invoice. Additionally, the report accuses them of exceeding the electoral spending limit by 359.62 euros, set at 3,516.15 euros.

Many media outlets have echoed this information, which has naturally attracted attention. Even more striking, however is the special prominence given by some digital outlets. These media have also hidden a relevant part of the information, which is that the Court of Auditing has also requested to sanction Junts.

Featured News in Ara and Vilaweb

This morning, the information about Aliança Catalana was listed as the main news on the Diari Ara portal. This newspaper receives 800,000 euros annually in subsidies from the generalitat.

It was also one of the most prominent news items in Vilaweb. This media outlet has an obsession with the "far right", which has increased as Aliança Catalana has been gaining ground on Carles Puigdemont.

Once again, their attempts to brazenly attack Sílvia Orriols's party, this time over 300 euros, have caused confusion. They accuse Ara and Vilaweb of "sick obsession," and accuse them of covering up the scandals of other parties. Many believe there is a campaign against Orriols due to how the polls are going.

Sílvia Orriols has also criticized that they talk about "an alleged irregularity" of 350 euros, "and say nothing about the 2.2M euros that the government gave to menas immigrants."

But it has also been proven that the information was not only biased but also incomplete.

Incomplete Information

The Court of Auditing has requested to sanction Junts for exceeding their electoral spending limit by 315,000 euros. Carles Puigdemont's party has filed appeals, but the body considers none of the explanations valid. In fact, out of the 317 parties that ran in the 2023 municipal elections, 37 exceeded the spending limit.

Despite the difference between AC's excess (350 euros) and Junts's (315,000 euros), for Ara or Vilaweb, only the matter of Orriols's party is relevant. Another example of the role played by subsidized press in Catalonia.