The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, warned this Saturday the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and that of Vox, Santiago Abascal, that Catalan and the self-government of Catalonia "are not to be touched," and pointed out that both leaders are becoming the same by proposing what he considers a regression.
He intervened in Girona after the presentation event of the candidates from this province for Congress and the Senate, in which the councilor of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, and the head of the PSC list for Congress from Girona in the general elections, Marc Lamuà, also spoke.
Illa reproached Feijóo for defining himself as a feminist while proposing to eliminate the Ministry of Equality and Feminism, and described Vox's initiative in Castilla y León to "prohibit financing projects with supposed ideological indoctrination" in cinema as censorship: "We are starting to see their model."
Electoral campaign and mail-in voting
He warned that the opposition will try to focus the electoral campaign on the delegitimization of institutions and mail-in voting, in addition to criticizing the "grandchildren's law." In contrast, the socialist leader defended that this call is an opportunity to vote for "dignity, education, and respect."
He advocated for carrying out the "most respectful" electoral campaign ever held in Spain and claimed that every person with a Spanish passport should be able to vote, following the precautionary suspension of voting for naturalized citizens derived from the provision of the Democratic Memory Law known as the "grandchildren's law."
He described the electoral day as particularly relevant because, in his opinion, the world is going through a period of "profound" changes, with demographics, technological advances, and climate alterations as major underlying forces.
European perspective and the role of Catalonia
The president framed these elections as the beginning of a European electoral cycle that will be followed by elections in France, Italy, and Poland, and emphasized that Catalonia will be "decisive," just as, he recalled, it was in the 2023 elections.
"19 deputies from the PSC. And there are two options. There are two alternatives. There are not three or four, two. Either there continues to be a progressive government that recognizes the plural reality of Spain, led by Pedro Sánchez, or there exists an Abascal-Feijóo government. Feijóo-Abascal. It amounts to the same," he stated.
Criticism of Junts and Equidistance
Illa has criticized that Junts seeks to position itself in equidistance after the results of 29N: "Being equidistant and being neutral is not wanting to decide."
He has emphasized that "Either you are with democracy, or you are with authoritarianism. Either you are with housing as a right, or you are with housing as a business. Either you are with the defense of the public pension system, or you are with pensions as a business. Either you are with public and universal healthcare, or you are with healthcare as a business. You cannot be in the middle."
Interventions by Paneque and Lamuà
In her intervention, the councilor of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Sílvia Paneque, has emphasized that this campaign is "moral" and has called to vote for peace and not for hate.
She has defended that diversity is a Catalan "virtue" and has claimed the principles of humanity, justice, and freedom against racism and insult.
For his part, Marc Lamuà has maintained that these elections have a profound sense of defending democracy and "returning hope to those who have lost it."