Video | Alejandro Fernández's Review of Salvador Illa: 'We Need a Chainsaw'

The plenary session of Parlament this Wednesday provided another memorable verbal battle between Alejandro Fernández (PP) and Salvador Illa.

Alejandro Fernández asked Salvador Illa "how many superfluous organizations he has eliminated" since he has held the Generalitat. The President claims to have eliminated "more than a dozen inactive urban consortiums." He also promised to eliminate "all those organizations that we see can be removed without affecting the quality of public services."

The response did not convince his interlocutor. Alejandro Fernández referred to the report by the PSC's secretary of economic affairs, Francesc Trillas, in June 2021. The report concluded that, in Catalonia, 1.1 billion euros are wasted annually on superfluous expenses.

It mentioned "overlapping and duplicated organizations, excess staff at TV3, and 359 entities that represent a waste of more than one hundred million euros." It also proposed "a drastic reduction in the salaries of these organizations, cuts in foreign action, and ending partisan clientelism in the Generalitat."

He then accused Salvador Illa of ignoring the report and even doing the opposite of what it recommends.

Fernández, Illa and the Chainsaw

"Mr. Illa, the Generalitat of Catalonia also needs a chainsaw," he stated. "...or destral ("ax" in Catalan), if you prefer , in a more nostrada expression." He accused him of "continuing to waste" on "these long-decaying pro-independence policies" that "in the end, we Catalans end up paying from out of our pockets."

Salvador Illa reproached him for the chainsaw expression, which he described as "unfortunate." He admitted that some things can be "simplified." But he denied that the solution is to "take out the chainsaw" or "suddenly fire ten thousand civil servants who are in a cooperation agency in the world."

Discussion on Taxation

In his turn, PP deputy Juan Fernández Benítez addressed the Minister of Economy, Alicia Romero. He asked her "what measures they plan to take to mitigate the new taxation of the minimum wage."

This opened a new discussion between PP and the Govern over high taxation in Catalonia. Fernández criticized that "here in Catalonia, those who work pay, those who start businesses pay, those who save pay, and those who die pay." Now, also, "those who earn the minimum wage pay."

He questioned "what's the point of raising the minimum wage" for those who earn the least "if you then force them to pay taxes?" He directly accused the socialists of "cheating" and "deceiving" Catalans.

But he went further, stating that "in Catalonia, taxes have ceased to be a social instrument and have become a noose that strangles families and workers." Therefore, he called for an end to the "tax hell," lowering taxes, and offering a line of aid to the middle and lower classes.

Alicia Romero denied the claim, asserting that Catalonia is four points below the European average in taxation. She defended her government's "fair, supportive, and progressive" fiscal policy. She asked "not to dissociate taxes from the quality of public services."