Sunday pills

A STRATEGY OF TENSION will mark the coming months. Madrid is willing to use all the instruments at its disposal, of which there are many, against the referendum on independence. Its latest step points to administration workers as a target and threatens them with the crime of embezzlement of public funds, which it has avoided up to now.

It's strange that the self-incrimination, officially communicated by letter from the very beginning before the TSJC, of then-Minister of Economy and Knowledge Andreu Mas-Colell, has had no consequences and the Prosecutor preferred to look the other way when it chose its targets for 9-N. Would it have been too difficult to explain to the world?

In contrast, now the strategy has changed and the degree of threat is rising. Judicial clerks are visiting Catalan institutions assiduously to serve officials with warrants, and Rajoy is calling for the Constitutional Court to continue doing the work that he has avoided by not assuming his political responsibility to negotiate. The pressure from the CUP, which made the inclusion of a specific item dedicated to the referendum a condition for their votes for the budget, and the acceptance of JxSí of those conditions, have done the rest. The new legal challenge of the Spanish government names 19 people. In addition to the president and the government as a whole, it names five other high office-holders: the Secretary of Governance, the General Secretary of the Vice-presidency, the Comptroller General, the Director of Public Tenders, and the General Director of Budget.

FOUR MINISTERS AND FOUR MESSAGES. Economic growth is solid, pre-crisis tax collection levels are being matched, Catalonia will not be treated differently either politically or financially, and if necessary, the entire administration will be threatened in order to block the independence process. Spain is sticking to its guns.

Threats and the sensation of risk will be key in the coming months. The perception of risk might not only weaken the vote in favor of independence, but could also mobilize those against it in a referendum.

Taking aim at the second level of the administration has the clear goal of cracking the pro-independence majority, and will have its effects. Nervousness about political disqualification is growing in the second echelon and in the first, as well. More than one official is asking in private who “will bell the cat", questioning a timeline that they consider "hasty", and acting out of loyalty and sense of duty more than by alignment with the roadmap. We can ask ourselves honestly if those who do not assume the direct costs of the process have the legitimacy to ask for sacrifices or heroism when called for.

CREDIBILITY. Cool-headed politicians, credibility, and the capacity for coordinated action in response to the Spanish government will be needed more than ever in the coming months. But political credibility has seen better days. The CEO (Center for Opinion Research) says that Catalonia's main problem, according to surveys, is dissatisfaction with politics, which has risen from 33.7% to 43.7%, ahead of unemployment and job insecurity.

Some 79% are very or completely dissatisfied with the workings of democracy. Scandals over alleged illegal financing and corruption are not unrelated to this dissatisfaction, and cases such as that of Millet or the 3% kickbacks erode trust. Today's newspaper includes an interesting interview with Joan Llinares, the man who was charged with auditing the Palau de la Música, and leaves us with two interesting questions. On one hand, the difficulty of establishing the final destination for 9 million euros, and the lack of cooperation from banks. On the other, the curious generosity of the FAES (the foundation headed up by Aznar and at that time directly linked to the PP) with the Palau, and Millet's relationship with its leadership.

BOOKS THAT MAKE US GREAT. In my last move I was again unable to get rid of some books that had opened new worlds to me. They are yellowed and the corners of the covers are wrinkled. Some have died along the way, but others are now in my daughter's library. I just need to say “You don’t need to read these yet ..."

THE GUARDIAN OF THE HOURS. I read with interest a document called The Basis for Seeking a National Pact for Workday Schedule Reform. I hoped to find in it a revolutionary idea to adapt our time schedule to that of the civilized world. I have found in it the common sense that we seem incapable of applying. An optimized school schedule will conflict with that of families or, more specifically, of most mothers. What good is it if children finish school earlier but we can't pick them up? How many of you began this week with a meeting at half past seven? How many public events take the risk of getting scheduled for mid-afternoon? What kind TV ratings would the news have at 8 pm? What’s the point of two-hour long work lunches? Sign me up for the revolution, but we'll have to change everything: I don't even know where to begin in rationalizing our schedules.