The PSC candidate for the May elections, Salvador Illa, has in mind what the Government he would like to preside should be like, and from what he says, he even has preferences in many of the names of the councilors he would appoint if he becomes president. . The model is summarized in a government alone or, in any case, a progressive coalition, and composed of “professional” profiles in each subject who share as a priority “returning excellence to public services.”
Although he refuses to reveal any name of the Government that he would form, Illa gave some clues in the press conference at the EFE agency this Monday, pointing out that those responsible for the different departments would be “very competent, very professional people, who give a point of transversality and that is above the parties.” That is, technocrats, who may or may not have political affinity with the PSC, and even independent profiles.
“Everyone who is part of the Government will be clear that the priority is to unite and focus on public services,” he prioritized. The PSC candidate has also pointed out that the professionalism that he demands to occupy the position of councilor means that the profiles he seeks are “above the parties”, not “aside from them”.
Illa is thinking of a government “with very qualified people in different matters,” regardless of whether they are affiliated with a certain party. With this profile, in his government there will be representation of “political parties”, but “with people who have proven professional excellence.” It is therefore about “attracting talent and the ability to serve citizens,” she explained.
Illa also has in mind what in her opinion would be the best formula to govern. Although he would prefer a solo government supported by a large majority, the result at the polls may not be enough for him to do so, which is why he admits that a coalition government with ERC and the commons would also be feasible. “It is a possible formula,” he acknowledged, but both parties must “be clear” that “providing public services will be the priority” and that this requires “broad and transversal agreements.”
In any case, the candidate wanted to diversify the possibilities of government and has asked to wait for the results of the polls this Sunday. Among the criteria for his pact policy, “social democracy” and “mainstreaming” continue to prevail, and there is no room for an agreement with Junts.
As he already announced last week, Illa has assured that he will not vote for a possible Carles Puigdemont investiture because Junts “is at the opposite end of my political project”, and that, however, he will run for the investiture if he wins. In this way, the PSC candidate throws the ball into the pro-independence court with a challenge: “What will they do? Will they block?”
To prevent this from happening, the role of ERC could be crucial, which could hold the key for Illa to govern or, on the contrary, could choose to agree with Junts as a consequence of the arithmetic of the Congress of Deputies. Faced with this temptation, Illa has said that he is “certain” that the president of the Generalitat “will be elected in Catalonia and with a logic of Catalan politics”, so that “whoever mixes the two things will be very wrong”, he has warned. , remembering the result of the general elections in Catalonia, where the PSC swept more than 1.2 million votes.
The candidate did not want to interpret the role of the Republicans or their electoral prospects, but he has once again outlined “two only options” in light of the polls: the PSC or Junts. In this sense, he has criticized that the majority of 74 deputies that emerged after the 2021 elections has not provided stability. “Either more paralysis in Catalonia, or we go directly to the Government, without carousing, without intermediaries, to face the problems of Catalonia,” Illa summarized.
