The mayoress of Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelonès) takes up the position as spokesperson of the PSC in the new executive of the party, which ratified this weekend Salvador Illa as first secretary and electoral candidate in the 12- M. His past in favor of a legal consultation in Catalonia and his protest for the application of 155 have been left behind: “We have turned the page. We are in a different context”, he dispatches.
What made you accept the position of PSC spokesperson?
Salvador Illa is very seductive when he proposes responsibilities. At a time like the current one, being the spokesperson for the party is an important personal challenge, because it allows me to contribute to the electoral campaign that will make Illa, if the voters want it, the next president.
What do you think Illa intends with you giving voice to the party?
So far, Illa has shown choral leadership. In the last executive I was in charge of safety and coexistence issues and I had absolute freedom to raise challenges in this matter, and I have always felt recognized and valued. This is one of the factors that mark his personality: to bring out from everyone the best that he can give.
How does the party see the time of the process and of Iceta?
The party is now very cohesive. Miquel Iceta did an unbeatable job in a very difficult time, of fracture and social polarization. But with Illa we are in a position, due to the cohesion of the party and the project, to bring about the changes that Catalonia needs. Catalonia needs a solid government with the ability to change things, especially those that affect citizens.
You competed with Iceta and lost. How did he experience it?
Our party was the first to launch primaries, and without causing the party to break up. We were role models. Iceta won, but the people from my candidacy were integrated into its executive. Those primaries allowed us to come out stronger. Today the PSC is in good shape and with unbeatable leadership.
He was also in the executive of the PSOE and left it due to disagreement with the application of article 155…
That is quite far away and the decisions I made at that time are inconsequential today. We have turned the page, I hope, on the unilateral declaration of independence and the referendum, and both Illa and Sánchez represent a space for dialogue, for construction, for breaking the polarization, the blocs, and offer a solvent project for Catalonia and for Spain
Was your defense of a legal inquiry circumstantial?
Our party has long championed legal and agreed consultation. But the query today is also outdated. We are in a different context. We have given the green light to the Amnesty law, which I hope will serve to put politics at the center and allow us to start a new stage.
Will it be necessary to convince us that it will not return to 2017?
Amnesty is a political tool for reconciliation and, above all, a show of forgiveness towards what was done very wrong. We have facilitated a game board in which reconciliation, forgiveness and the beginning of a new stage must be key to the transformation of Catalonia.
Will the amnesty have electoral costs for the PSC?
I do not think so. The PSC has always been on the side of dialogue, reconciliation and breaking blocks and polarization, which is very negative for doing things and transforming the reality of citizenship, and I think that today is what people want.
I the Koldo case?
We have always been ruthless with corruption, always. In this no one can give us lessons.
How have you seen Illa’s opposition work in the Parliament of Catalonia?
We have had a very responsible attitude. We have put the interests of Catalonia before those of the party. This is the only way to explain the support for Aragonès’ budgets. If we have elections, it was not because of the PSC, but because we have a president who is in the minority and who has not been able to reach agreements to guarantee the Government.
Was this the right time for an election?
Now there is no other choice. Now citizens must vote and choose between a Catalonia that prospers or remains anchored and enters a dysfunctional path. The Generalitat has not fulfilled its work in recent years. Everything is excuses, but it is not governed. And the councils have felt very alone and neglected.
What do you think these elections will be about? Are you afraid that Puigdemont can go and not drought?
I think they have to go by project, and Salvador has done a lot of work on this. He has traveled all over Catalonia talking to all the important sectors of the country and has won the trust of many people. This will be seen at the polls.
Do they prioritize a left-wing pact?
We don’t have to talk about pacts now. We have to leave with a winning spirit. We have always been open to dialogue with all political forces, but we address all voters, regardless of what they think and their ideology.
Also right-wing and pro-independence?
We want to address all voters who believe that Catalonia needs change.
Zapatero asked independence to let Illa govern if he wins the elections…
It would be reasonable.
You have become a point of reference for the party in the field of security.
Security is a first-order public policy, like education or healthcare. The system must be based on coordination between the security forces and, above all, on the recognition and prestige of these forces. Security must be comprehensive, but police action is fundamental so that residents feel safe and accompanied.
And what do you think the Government has failed in?
The Government has improvised too much in security policies, even if it has in a certain way renewed the relationship with the Mossos after a too long period in which they were not taken into account much.
