Alberto Núñez Feijóo (Ourense, 1961) sees the goal close, but he doesn’t trust the polls. Happy with how the campaign went, but tired of so many planes and AVE.
In what mood are you in this final stretch?
The truth is that every time I go somewhere it’s a boost, because people are very attached to the campaign and very enthusiastic about the possibility of a change of government in Spain.
In the interview with Pedro Sánchez, I asked him to tell me a positive appellation of his person and he told me that he was stubborn, that he has a great capacity to tell 20 lies and that he doesn’t bat an eyelash.
I don’t like insults. I didn’t come to insult Pedro Sánchez, I came to win him over.
But on the subject of lies, a whole campaign has been built on him following the face-to-face.
The best thing about the face-to-face is that, since it’s recorded, and I’m sure there are many journalists who have watched it several times, they will draw their own conclusions.
On Monday he was caught in one, in an interview with RTVE.
Are you referring to the pension revaluation index? Well, I think it’s clear that I was wrong in the index, but I don’t know if any candidate has been audited with such intensity. Yes. I rectified it so I got to the office and checked. The journalist was right that some years the PP increased pensions not in accordance with the CPI, but with another revaluation index, which is the pension revaluation index. What I do reiterate is the fact that the PSOE froze pensions, despite the fact that Mr. Sánchez denied it. And he lied.
At this point of contradictory statements, you have criticized approaches that the PP made to Vox when you were in Galicia, and now you maintain that if you need Vox’s yes, it is logical that you enter the Government.
I think both criteria are quite honest and sincere. As president of the Xunta, I worked for 13 years so that Vox did not enter the Galician Parliament. At the beginning of the first legislatures it did not even exist. Vox has had a positive electoral rebound since Sánchez arrived in the Government of Spain. what happens now I still think that a government without Vox is good. And I continue to think that it is necessary that those who want to change the government in Spain, and those who do not want to restore and expand a Frankenstein 2, must vote for the party that can guarantee it. And the only party is the Popular Party.
But if he doesn’t have a majority…
I am concerned that Spain is governed by pro-independence parties. That is why I offered Sánchez that, if he wins, I will support his investiture, as long as he does not govern with pro-independence parties. I asked him for reciprocity. If I win, let me govern without agreeing with Vox. Therefore, the PSOE is not worried about Vox being in government, what they are worried about is that the PP wins. Therefore, I tell the citizens: I do not want to govern with Vox, I do not want a coalition with Vox, and I ask the citizens to vote to ensure that Sánchez, Sumar’s populism and independence do not govern Spain and that a party governs, which is the party of change. I want to avoid this coalition and I ask the Spanish to have a majority party without a coalition. I am not saying that the PSOE and Vox are equal parties, they are very different, but they have interests that coincide: that the PP does not win.
Having said that, can you safely rule out that Santiago Abascal will not be your vice president?
It is very difficult for me to think that the Socialist Party, if it has an electoral failure, will maintain the blockade of the country. Because Sánchez already did it in 2015 and 2016. And because he forced us to repeat elections in 2019. I have to have some hope that the PSOE will not hinder the governability of the country and prevent us from making an agreement with Vox. I guess you can’t be that… cynical? Is he worried about a pact and your only goal is to keep your political opponent from reaching agreements? The reality is that he is not worried about the pact.
You face to face avoided condemning the phrase Que et voti Txapote. I give him the opportunity, now, to condemn her here.
I won’t use the phrase, but I certainly won’t censure a citizen, let alone the sister of a murdered person, who has to accept lessons on what democracy is in Spain with Bildu. This cannot be accepted. But the phrase is not from the PP. I, on the other hand, had to hear how the Socialist Party called the leaders of the PP murderers. assassins
Where, this? when?
During the Iraq war and during the 11-M attack. In the PP they were called murderers for a long time. But they didn’t say it on the street, the leaders of the PSOE said it.
In the event that he can form a government, he has announced that a woman will be vice-president. Will it have a parity government?
I already had them in Galicia. Galician law required it. But now I will let myself be carried away by the criterion of capacity. I think it has to be like this and I’m not worried, because I think a very equal government can be achieved.
What project do you have for Catalonia? And don’t tell me what he said one day, that the Catalans are fine.
For Catalonia, I have the project to change the conversation, to talk about the issues that concern the citizens and not those that concern some politicians. I have the project to recover the companies that have left, to improve and grow the Catalan economy, because there are possibilities to do so. I have the project to restore Barcelona as one of the cultural capitals of Europe or to create employment, to improve the infrastructures. I have the project to respect the historical nationality that is Catalonia.
This week, his candidate for Barcelona, ??Nacho Martín Blanco, has said that it is likely that a PP government will reactivate independence. Do you agree?
There are some who say it is likely, especially Mr. Sánchez. But I will talk to all the parties in Catalonia. I come from an autonomous community where there was also a sovereignist party that had overcome the PSOE and I have agreed some things with it. What I cannot accept is that the Constitution or the Statute is not complied with. Within these margins, there is no problem in talking to parties that are on the other ideological side.
At Monday’s rally in Barcelona, ??he said that the PP had made mistakes in Catalonia in the past. What was he referring to?
Probably, we should have acted earlier and not let the matter come to the end. But, of course, a party that takes out two deputies, if it does not accept that it has made mistakes, is that it does not see the electoral results. Then, of course, two deputies in the Courts of Catalonia is an electoral failure. I believe that Catalonia must see that the Popular Party does not withdraw from the autonomous community, that it does not absent itself from Catalan politics, that the Popular Party is a key piece in Catalan constitutionalism.
Do you think that the disappearance of CiU allows them to have a political space to grow?
I think so, because the Convergence space is there. Unfortunately, Puigdemont’s party has abandoned it and there is a space of citizens that is there, which is very dormant. What we need is for Catalans to see us as a Catalan, pro-autonomist party, with people from Catalonia. The Popular Party of Catalonia must make a comeback. We started it in the municipalities. We said we would be a decisive force in Barcelona and we were. We avoided a pro-independence government and gave the mayorship of Barcelona to the PSC. Well, finally, we doubled the number of votes. And I believe that we will also see this comeback in the general elections.
The frustrated Josep Piqué in an interview recommended him to make positive offers for Catalonia, in particular, the improvement of the financing system…
Yes. This is the way. I think that the autonomous communities are at the limit. Healthcare takes up one out of every two euros. And it goes up. The central government takes unilateral decisions that are sometimes financed by the community or co-financed by the community without counting on anyone.
Some time ago, when you presided over the Xunta, you were concerned about the high number of civil servants and you told me that the Administration needed to be reformed. Will he do it now if he wins?
There are certain positions and in certain ministries that have been left empty of competence. It makes no sense to have a Ministry of Consumer Affairs because this is transferred to the autonomous communities. It does not make sense, in my opinion, to have Universities, to have Culture and to have Education in three different departments when they can be in two. We must think more about dignifying the State administration and digitizing it. But it is very big when it comes to the ministries, especially in Madrid, the General Administration of the State.
In terms of infrastructure, in Spain we have had a radial system for many years. As a person who comes from Galicia, do you propose any changes to overcome this situation?
I think we have done many times too much infrastructure in the center and very, very little in the periphery. All the autonomous communities have motorways in Madrid, but they do not have motorways between them. The paradigmatic example that I experienced personally is that Galicia had two motorways on the plateau and did not have the motorway in the Cantabrian. The Mediterranean Corridor is another example. It is delayed and jerky. We do not have Catalonia and Valencia connected. I think it is a mistake made by people who have not worked in autonomous communities. In fact, we have an autonomous State which is key. We must peripherally unite Spain and that way it will be more competitive.
Tell me something positive about Mr. Pedro Sánchez.
It is clear that he is a person who has an enormous ambition for power and acts according to it. We have seen it. When he was dismissed as general secretary, he came back and won the primaries, and we have seen it during the five years of his presidency, since he has been able to agree on everything and with anyone.
Which Spain does the person from Feijóo dream of?
Well, with the Spain of cordiality, a multilingual Spain, with a richer Spain, with a more diverse Spain. And, without a doubt, I also dream of a Spain where economically people live better and where we do not live at the expense of our children. What is the huge debt at the rate of 8 million per hour, 200 million per day, that Sánchez has left us during these five years. In fact, this debt weighs more than 40,000 million euros on the budget each year, just the interest. Imagine what we could do in Catalonia with the payment of one year’s interest.
