“Pedro Sánchez adds in Catalonia and Zapatero, too.” The PSC plans to have the frequent presence of the President of the Government during the Catalan electoral campaign that will begin on April 25. Sánchez will go to Catalonia five times, including for the start of the campaign and its closing, on May 10. They will also have former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has become one of the best assets for the socialists for his defense of Sánchez’s policies and his management of the Catalan issue. On the other hand, the PSC will dispense with the ministers of the current central Executive, to avoid being identified with the Koldo case.
Sources from the Catalan party confirm that Sánchez’s presence in the campaign will be the most active to date, convinced that his presence can activate the vote of the Catalan voters who already gave their confidence in the general elections of 23-J. As a consequence of the PSC’s results in those elections – 19 deputies, compared to seven from Junts and seven from ERC – the president was able to retain the presidency of the Government, so the objective is to reissue that broad support, which would allow a sufficient victory Salvador Illa to try to preside over the Generalitat.
Although the dates of Sánchez’s visits in the Catalan campaign have not yet been defined, the first is scheduled to be next Friday the 19th for the signing of the foreseeable agreement for the reindustrialization of the old Nissan plant in Barcelona, ??still in pre-campaign. He will also return for the start of the campaign and for the closing rally.
In the PSC they assure that the president has a great interest in Illa achieving his objectives because it would provide a boost to his management in Catalonia. In Moncloa these elections are taken as a test of this management, so that if Illa obtains majority support he will reinforce the president in the rest of Spain. For the PSC it makes no sense to think that Sánchez is better off with an independence victory if he wants to ensure the stability of the legislature.
Zapatero’s presence in the Catalan campaign was taken for granted. The former president is a staunch defender of Sánchez’s management of the Catalan issue, both with the pardons, the amnesty, and the defense and expansion of self-government.
However, the PSC will not have the socialist ministers. The reason is the Koldo case, in which former members of the Executive such as former Minister José Luis Ábalos and his advisor Koldo García are involved. They consider that the dedication of the ministers to combat this issue does not add up to what Sánchez does.
Illa is also preparing his statement before the Senate commission on masks, set for April 24, just one day before the start of the electoral campaign. The PSC candidate is determined to give all the explanations again, convinced that “there is nothing” that could incriminate him. In this sense, in the party they assure that this appearance is prepared with “respect for the institution” and with “humility”, so that it will refresh data on the management of Health when he was the minister, but given the possibility that the parties could try to “play dirty”, it will also reserve the possibility of responding by highlighting the management of the pandemic carried out by some regional administrations.