• Coronavirus. Last minute.

Now it's up to the Senate. Tomorrow the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities meets in the Upper House to discuss the situation of the coronavirus crisis . It is the only body in which the parties, the autonomies and the Government debate on an equal footing. But the call has been lackluster because neither the Government nor the autonomies have given it the importance it has.

The head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, did not want to join the territorial debate on the crisis and the de-escalation, despite the multiple calls of the PP (the party that has promoted the call, through its spokesman in the Senate, Javier Maroto ). So the Government will only attend the Minister of Territorial Policy, Carolina Darias. Nor has enthusiasm spread among the autonomies. In fact, only three regional presidents will attend the meeting: Isabel Díaz Ayuso ( Madrid ), Fernando López Miras ( Murcia ) and Alfonso Fernández Mañueco ( Castilla y León ). Also the president of the autonomous city of Ceuta , Juan Vivas . All four are from the PP.

However, two of the main barons of Pablo Casado's party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo ( Galicia ) and Juanma Moreno ( Andalucía ) will not be present in the Senate debate, according to sources from their governments. Feijóo will be replaced by his Galician vice president, Alfonso Rueda .

A counselor will go to Andalusia, as in Aragon , Castilla-La Mancha and the Valencian Community , according to sources in each territory. This contrasts with Díaz Ayuso's proposal that the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities replace the Conference of Presidents that is held every Sunday, electronically, between the Prime Minister and regional leaders.

Other autonomies will not even send representation. This is the case of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands , due to the difficulty of moving around safely, and Catalonia, which claims to be against the format of the Commission of the Autonomous Communities.

Catalonia has championed the plant. Despite the fact that it had initially expressed its willingness to participate in the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities that will be held this Thursday in the Senate to debate with the Government on the management of the coronavirus, the Generalitat has finally dismissed their attendance.

The Catalan Executive has brandished its nationalist argument to defend that the Govern "gives the explanations in the Parliament", in which, as Quim Torra repeats whenever he has occasion, the "sovereignty" of Catalonia resides. "The Government of Catalonia answers questions asked by parliamentary groups in the Parliament. It does not answer questions from parliamentary groups in other chambers, such as the Senate, where the party (PP) is requesting it," they emphasize. Generalitat.

The Catalan government had planned to send the spokesman, Mertixell Budó, to the Upper House commission, but finally has chosen to despise the autonomous forum to continue claiming a role of its own and differentiated by the State and the rest of the communities in managing the crisis. sanitary. For once and despite their terrible relationship, the decision is agreed between the two partners of Govern: ERC and JxCat agreed in the Council that the Catalan Executive held on Tuesday.

Until now, Catalonia has always participated in weekly meetings between the Government and the autonomous communities to address the management of the pandemic. Telematic meetings that Torra has systematically taken advantage of to demand the end of the single command and the centralization of powers, as well as to accuse the Government of unprotecting the Catalans against the virus with their decisions.

It must be remembered that this commission is, in the words of the Senate itself, "the body that most clearly represents the will of the Senate to become a territorial Chamber in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution." In fact, this commission is one of the two great territorial prerogatives that the senators have, after the activation of article 155. Furthermore, one of the most important differences between Congress and the Senate is that only the latter can convene a commission like this, in which the legislative and executive branches exchange their positions.

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Know more

  • Senate
  • PP
  • Ceuta
  • Andalusia
  • Quim Torra
  • Murcia
  • Madrid
  • Pablo Casado
  • Pedro Sánchez
  • Carolina Darias
  • Alberto Núñez Feijoo
  • Alfonso Fernández Mañueco
  • Aragon
  • Balearics
  • Canary Islands
  • Isabel Díaz Ayuso
  • Castilla y León
  • Castilla la Mancha
  • Catalonia
  • Valencian Community
  • Fernando López Miras
  • Galicia
  • Politics

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