The president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, has reproached his state counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, for the decision to bring forward the general elections to November 29 for "opportunism." Even so, he considers that, on this occasion, the "personal interest" of the PSOE leader coincides with "common sense" and with what, in his opinion, the "majority of Galician citizens" and the whole of Spain desire. "We could not continue like this," he concluded.
Rueda has hinted that Sánchez intends to "preempt" the effect of the judicial cases that affect his environment. In addition to emphasizing that the advance was decided accompanied by "polls" to evaluate different scenarios, he has suggested that in the maneuver "there would be a bit of everything: opportunism, demagogy, and, less general interest, anything."
"He valued what was most convenient for him personally. I am absolutely sure," he insisted, also very harsh on the way the president of the Government communicated his decision. In Rueda's view, Sánchez tries to "raise walls" and "confront" the population. "This is a good opportunity to bring them down definitively with the democratic vote," he proclaimed.
Convinced that for Galicia "what matters most" is a change in the state Executive, the head of the Xunta was asked, after the weekly meeting of the Consello, if he agrees with the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in her call not to use mail-in voting.
"Look, what I agree on is that the entire voting system, including mail-in voting, has the maximum guarantees. And this time with some things we have seen, especially," he emphasized, avoiding backing Ayuso's position, but demanding reinforced controls.
Housing, the central axis of the campaign
In an electoral context where the issue of access to housing will be one of the key matters, Rueda has defended that it is "a good reason to discuss" both in the campaign and "always." He has stressed that "it is the primary concern of Galicians right now" and that, for this reason, he finds it logical to contrast "what each one did and how they prioritized with realities and not with promises or pure propaganda announcements."
As an example, he referred to the balance in housing matters presented at the last meeting of his Executive and has claimed that the Xunta has allocated many more resources to this area than the central Government. In his view, the electoral campaign is "a magnificent opportunity to continue talking about this" and confront models.
Without ruling out adjustments in his Executive
The also leader of the PPdeG has assured that he does not contemplate using the candidacies for the Cortes as an "opportunity" to undertake a remodeling of his Government, although he has not closed the door to the possibility that, as in 2023, the president of the PP and former Galician president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, may "call" some conselleiro.
"I am very satisfied with my Government, with my conselleiros and conselleiras. The previous occasion they were called (and integrated into Feijóo's general election lists) and I understood that it was an appropriate decision, that if the president needed them and as long as they agreed, they would respond to that call," he explained.
"That situation is still maintained now," Rueda added, who recalled that the call has been known for very few hours and that he has not had time to assess changes. "Of course, I have no intention of taking advantage of the elections; if I were not happy with a conselleiro or conselleira, I would not be waiting for an occasion, I would do it and that's it," he emphasized.
A "positive" campaign against the disqualifications
Rueda takes for granted that the race to the polls will be loaded with "disqualifications" and has again pointed to Sánchez, whom he attributes an attempt to "divide" society into "good and bad" and to "raise walls."
In contrast, he maintains that citizens aspire to "the opposite" and has expressed his willingness for the PP to focus the debate on "proposals" and on "all the things that need to be done for the country to function again." "Let it be a positive campaign," he added.
The future of Ana Vázquez on the lists
Regarding whether the Ourensana Ana Vázquez, protagonist of the pepper spray incident in Congress, will ultimately be left off the lists, Rueda reiterated that the incident was "unfortunate." However, he criticized that, in light of what has happened in this term, for "some parties" to demand her removal seems to him "nonsense and a game" in which he does not intend to participate.
"It would be more than missing that those who look the other way with many things we are seeing become picky when it affects others," he concluded.