The president of the PP and candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has assured this Thursday in Girona, before unions and associations of the Forces and Security Corps, that if he reaches the Palacio de la Moncloa, the Police and the Guardia Civil will be recognized as a risk profession and that he will push for a tougherening of penalties in the face of violent acts.
This announcement comes just one day after the disturbances recorded in different parts of Spain coinciding with the general strike. Numerous incidents, with damage, burning of rubbish bins, and damage to businesses, have been concentrated in Catalonia. In cities such as Barcelona, more than half a hundred arrests related to those incidents have been recorded.
At the meeting, at which he was accompanied by the vicesecretary for Institutional Regeneration, Cuca Gamarra, and by the 'number one' to Congress for Girona, Diana Moya, Feijóo reiterated his commitment to defending compliance with the law and protecting citizens’ safety.
After the episodes of violence from the previous day in several cities across the country, he has stressed that "the street does not belong to the violent, nor to those who encourage or allow violence, but to all Spanish people" and has promised to adopt the necessary measures "so that the peaceful, honest majority that follows the rules can live calmly".
In addition, the PP leader has said that Spain has a pending debt with the agents, which, in his view, must be settled with their formal recognition as a risk profession, culminating the pay-equivalency agreement, increasing allowances, and guaranteeing effective legal protection, as the party has detailed in a statement.
Security plan and tougher penalties
During the meeting, Feijóo set out his security plan, structured into five pillars to ensure that "whoever does it pays" and to reinforce the authority of the police forces. Among the measures proposed, he highlighted strengthening the Criminal Code in the face of violent disorder, restoring the aggravating circumstance for acting with the face covered, multiplying by five the penalties for vandalizing public space up to 3,000 euros, specific punishment for gangs that use minors to commit crimes, and strengthening the response to repeat offenders and squatting.
More State presence and reinforcement of personnel
Likewise, Feijóo has defended that the State should recover a full presence throughout the national territory and, in particular, in Catalonia, committing to increase the staff of the National Police, the Civil Guard and the Mossos d'Esquadra, in addition to reversing decisions such as the withdrawal of the Special Underwater Activities Group from l'Estartit.
"The street is not for the violent; it is for all Spaniards, and the future Government will be on the side of those who build this country and against those who destroy it," he said, insisting that "freedom needs order and that violence has to have more forceful consequences."
Feijóo has started the meeting by extending his condolences to the colleagues of the agent who died in Oviedo and wishing a prompt recovery to the police officer seriously injured, appealing to his career of more than three decades of service "as a guarantor of a safer nation."
The PP leader has traveled this Thursday to Catalonia, where he will take part in the campaign-opening event scheduled for this evening in Badalona (Barcelona), together with the city mayor, Xavier García Albiol, and the president of the PPC, Alejandro Fernández.