The PP leaves satisfied with its display of “territorial muscle” in the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities, but with the bittersweet feeling of having boxed in the mirror. Non-rival. The absence of the PSOE barons prevented the hand-to-hand debate on the amnesty, so that the interventions of the 11 regional presidents popularthe presidents of Ceuta and Melilla and the vice president of the Canary Islands became a concatenation of speeches whose success was measured by accumulation, rather than by contrast.
Only the presence of Peter Aragonés offered some option for parliamentary fencing, but the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia wanted to show that he had nothing to debate with the leaders of the PP and left the forum as soon as he finished his speech. In any case, in Genoa they are satisfied for two reasons. Firstly, because they believe they have stated more clearly than ever “that territorial power belongs to the PP” and that this is going to be the constant tone of the legislature. The second, because “defending the equality of citizens before those who want privileges and doing so from the institutions, with a sense of state, shows that there is an alternative to Sánchez’s souk.”
For this reason, the PP is not going to stop there and, as confirmed THE WORLDwill resurrect the Debate on the state of the Autonomous Communities before the end of the year, most likely in November, according to the sources consulted. This is a discussion forum that had not been convened since 2005. 18 years later, the PP wants to use it as a second parliamentary battering ram against the amnesty, after yesterday’s commission.
This debate, similar to the State of the Nation Debate held in Congress, but focused on territorial policies, has only been held three times so far, according to sources from the Upper House. In 1994, with Felipe Gonzalez; in 1997, with José María Aznar; and in 2005, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The Senate Regulations establish that the General Commission of Autonomous Communities can hold, once a year, a Debate on the state of the autonomies. After this debate, the different parliamentary groups can present motions for debate in the Plenary Session of the Upper House.
On the three occasions in which it has been held, the format was the following: first, a debate session within the framework of the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities with the participation of the President of the Government and the regional presidents; and, later, a Plenary session dedicated to the debate and approval of motions resulting from the session held in the Commission.