Puig: “When things go wrong, Spain torpedoes us”

BarcelonaFelip Puig, Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, claimed last Wednesday that Catalonia is recovering from the recession at a good pace and that the unemployment figure for the first quarter --to be announced on Thursday by Spain’s Employment Office (INE, in Spanish)-- will confirm that much.

However, he stated that the recovery is happening despite the hurdles often laid by the Spanish government when it comes to making decisions. “When things go well, the relationship between Catalonia and Spain is a placebo; but when they don’t, then Spain torpedoes us”, he said.

At a lunch event held by Manpower in Barcelona, the minister remarked that in a positive economic climate, Catalonia does well despite the higher energy prices and the “mismatch” between taxation and the nature of Catalan firms. He complained, though, about the consequences of not having the power to make certain decisions in a less than favourable climate, which has a limiting effect.

Puig criticised the gap between Catalonia’s contribution to the Spanish GDP (19 per cent) and the investment it receives from Madrid (9 per cent). “This gap is a burden; if a mere €2bn were spent on public works, the economic recovery would be more significant”, he added.

Nevertheless, Puig emphasised that it is the Catalan economy that spearheads the recovery and he was hopeful that the upcoming unemployment figures will show that the rate has dipped below 19 per cent.

Still, Puig warned that the recovery might stumble on dangerous “political fragility” and raised the alarm over the potential political fragmentation expected after the upcoming series of elections that starts with local polls on May 23. He predicted that this fragmentation might make it difficult to manage many cities, such as Barcelona.