The Minister of Culture and number two of the Front for Barcelona candidacy for the general elections, Ernest Urtasun, maintains that the elections on November 29 will be decisive for the protection of Catalan and that they determine the "future of the Catalan language."
In an interview with the newspaper 'Ara', collected by Europa Press this Saturday, he warned that "We are betting on whether there will be a Government in the State that protects the Catalan language or one that persecutes it."
As an example, he cited the Valencian Community, where, as he has denounced, the PP has "cut all the aid to Escola Valenciana or Acció Cultural Valenciana," and emphasized that these entities have been able to survive thanks to the financial support of the central Government. In his opinion, "If PP and Vox come to power, they will have no qualms about attacking the language."
Debate on the unity of the left
Regarding the confluence of the parties situated to the left of the PSOE, he pointed out that in recent days an intense internal debate has been generated and that it is up to Podemos to clarify the decisions it has made.
He emphasized that "there will be a unity ballot with more than 15 organizations that is presented throughout the State," and assured that he respects the decision of the former spokesperson of ERC in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, to once again head the list of republicans for Barcelona.
At the same time, he said he was surprised by Junts' attitude at the start of the pre-campaign: he criticized "This kind of will for equidistance that Junts per Catalunya has manifested. In the face of the possibility of the arrival of fascism to the Government of Spain, one cannot be equidistant," he emphasized.
Regarding the conditions of his formation to re-establish a coalition Executive with the PSOE if they gain a majority after the elections, he focused on the management of Rodalies. He reproached that "It has been 8 years that they have been in front of the Ministry of Transport, and I think it is unacceptable that there is a metropolitan area, which is one of the largest in Europe, with 5 million people, like Barcelona, that does not have trains in conditions."
Controversy over the paintings of Sijena
Regarding the mural paintings of Sijena, preserved in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), he lamented that the judge has rejected that the Institute of Cultural Heritage prepare a technical report on their transfer to Aragón, despite the fact that, in his words, "there is a great risk."
He reiterated that "I have always said that I do not agree with this ruling because it ignores the technical criteria. It is completely unacceptable to politicize heritage issues in this way. It is completely unacceptable," considering the matter closed.