The president of the Generalitat de Cataluña, Salvador Illa, defended this Wednesday in the control session of the Government in the Parliament the management of the PSOE at the head of the Ministry of Transport and Urban Mobility during the last 8 years, and also that of Minister Óscar Puente, despite his resignation, by maintaining that “not all of us are the same”, in response to questions from Junts.
Illa said that he is a friend of Óscar Puente and stressed that he values his way of acting, his public exposure and his work: “I am a friend of Minister Óscar Puente. I like his sincerity. I like that he always faces things. And I like that he is a man who works and can show results”, he affirmed, before adding that the head of Transport has given extensive explanations before Congress and the press.
Defense of railway management and request for confidence
The Catalan president maintained that, with the PSOE at the head of the Government, improvements have been made in the railway network and progress has been made to reverse the “investment drought”, especially in Catalonia, although he admitted that it is still necessary to regain confidence in the system, a task that, in his opinion, corresponds to all involved actors.
Junts accuses the PSOE of “disinvestment”
The president of Junts in the Parliament, Mònica Sales, disagreed with Illa's assessment and described the PSOE's management as “disastrous” and “shameful”, while urging the Catalan president to follow Puente's example: “They could follow the example”.
Sales accused Illa of defending the indefensible to protect the PSOE and asked him several questions in the chamber: “Will you say you are proud of Minister Puente? Exactly of what? Of the frivolities? Of the arrogance? Of adding two tragedies to his back? Of his disinvestment in Rodalies? Or that in the worst railway crisis in Catalonia he did not deign to set foot?”.
Given Junts' complaint to Renfe and Adif in the courts, Illa replied that the network's problems “are not solved” in court, but by governing, and also recalled that Junts appointed a party-affiliated representative to Renfe's board of directors.
The Comuns ask to “shield” the train as a public service
The leader of the Comuns in the Chamber, Jéssica Albiach, defended that, beyond Puente's resignation, it is essential to open a debate on the railway model and rethink the liberalization and outsourcing of the network, warning that “cutting ends up having dramatic consequences”.
Albiach asked Illa to influence the Government to “shield the train as a public service”, audit the network, not plan more high-speed rail until the safety of the current one is guaranteed, better dimension resources and prioritize railway investments over projects such as the expansion of the Barcelona Airport.
The president of the Generalitat de Cataluña agreed with Albiach that there must be a “clear and distinct presence of the State” in the railway network, although he rejected that the expansion of the Barcelona Airport is related to the lack of maintenance on trains, arguing that this infrastructure is financed with airport fees.