Salvador Illa Wants to Be Angela Merkel and Emulates Her Two Major Failures

On August 31, 2015, Angela Merkel uttered the phrase that defined her long tenure as German Chancellor. "Wir Schaffen das!" ("We can do it!") she told Germans in the face of the refugee influx. Merkel allowed nearly one million refugees to enter that year, plunging Germany into a migration chaos from which it is still paying the consequences.

The failure of migration policy marked Angela Merkel's tenure, but it was not the only one. The German Chancellor also led the offensive against nuclear power plants, which in the long run has proven to be a mistake. Her energy policy made Germany more dependent on Russia, leading the country into crisis when the Ukraine war broke out.

Angela Merkel represented like no one else the failure of European policies of the last two decades. Policies that have led to disaster for both Germany and the EU. Meanwhile, President Salvador Illa has defended her legacy this Wednesday in the Parliament, precisely in immigration and nuclear (her two major fiascos).

'More Merkel and Less Trump'

It was during an interpellation to Alejandro Fernández, after the PP deputy reproached him for his plan to close the nuclear plants.

Illa referred to 'drill, baby, drill' as the path not to follow. This was the slogan of the Republican Party in the 2008 U.S. campaign. It advocated intensifying gas and oil drilling to increase resources and avoid energy dependence on the outside.

The President of the Generalitat has said that his government is more in favor of Angela Merkel's energy policy. "More Merkel and less Trump," he said, "in immigration and also in nuclear." Illa insisted that "the future is decarbonization and renewables."

The reality is that Catalonia is one of the regions in Spain most dependent on nuclear energy. The plan to close the nuclear plants would increase energy dependence on the outside at a cost of billions of euros annually.

The Failure of European Elites

Angela Merkel's energy policy made Germany more dependent on coal, prevented the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and increased energy costs for industry and households. One of the reasons for the failure was the lack of investment in promoting renewable sources. Precisely what is happening in Catalonia, which represents a very low percentage of renewables in all of Spain.

The same happened with Merkel's migration policy, whose legacy Illa now defends. Germany opened its doors to tens of thousands of refugees who had been trapped in Hungary. Merkel managed to infect Germans with enthusiasm in the face of the challenge of welcoming and integrating all that mass of foreigners.

Months later, the CDU government itself acknowledged a migration chaos in the country. The fiasco has led, among other things, to the rise of a far-right and anti-immigration party like Alternative für Deutschland.

Salvador Illa has two references in immigration: Pere Aragonès and Angela Merkel. A few weeks ago, he adopted the words of the former president to Muslims (you don't have to integrate, you are Catalonia). And now he defends Angela Merkel's open-door policy that has led Germany to collapse.

Merkel represented the defense of the Brussels political establishment. Today the EU is a continent doomed to decline due to the political decisions made in the last two decades.