In the final stretch on May 12, Pedro Sánchez activated again yesterday in Catalonia one of the levers that work best to mobilize the socialist voter, which is to stir up the fear of the right. He did it in Vilanova i la Geltrú, in a rally alongside the candidate of the PSC, Salvador Illa, in which he proclaimed that “the best way to stop the ultra-right, the pro-independence, the Spanish party of Vox and that of the Popular Party of Feijóo, is to vote for the Socialist and Island Party as president of the Generalitat”.
Sánchez opened his speech focusing on Catalonia. “When Salva (Illa) speaks of a lost decade, is it true, of different governments, four pro-independence presidents, whether from ERC or JxCat, in these ten years where have they placed Catalonia in terms of education? From head to tail. Or in drought. Or in the deployment of renewable energy, which is synonymous with the re-industrialisation of a territory, or in healthcare, or in infrastructure”, he proposed. For this reason, he urged the socialists to ask for the vote “from neighbors, work colleagues and family”.
“Do we want four more years of paralysis or open a new stage of agreements between parties?”, he asked, marking distances between the project of the PSC and that of its adversaries Junts and ERC. “I only see Salvador Illa who aspires to govern, the others only aspire to block”, he stressed.
“I have been secretary general of the PSOE since 2014 and I remember how two right-wing presidents, in Moncloa and Palau, led Catalonia and Spain to the most important territorial bankruptcy of the last 45 years,” he said, referring to Mariano Rajoy and Artur Mas. “And I also say to Catalan society that, with socialist presidents in Moncloa and Palau, Catalonia and Spain will be unstoppable for the next four years,” he added.
Sánchez spoke about Catalonia, but he did not forget that the great metropolitan crown of Barcelona is where a progressive vote is concentrated, more motivated to go to the polls in general elections than in Catalan elections. And he directed the artillery towards a rival who does not sit in Parliament but in Congress.
“What do we have in front of us? What project does the PP have? More far-right parties than ever are running in these elections in Catalonia. The independence ultra-right, the Spanish ultra-right of Vox, and, having seen this and heard what we have heard, also Feijóo’s PP”, he assured. He detailed that “they trivialize gender violence where they govern with the extreme right in other territories of Spain” and recalled that the Socialist Party is feminist, so he asked “women to vote for the Socialist Party on May 12, en masse”.
In addition to feminism, Sánchez brandished another of the flags that separate the socialists from the right, such as the discourse and policies on immigration: “They identify immigration with insecurity and where they govern with the far right they pass laws, like the Valencian Community or Aragon, which review the history of democracy”, he assured. “They have equated victims with executioners, dictatorship with democracy”, he added, making it clear that the strength with which the extreme right is reaching the final stretch of the campaign has put all the parties on guard.
And what the PSOE leader calls “the mud machine” could not be missing in his speech, with reference to the “insults, defamation and slander” of the right. “They can throw all the mud they want at us, with their scum machine. They do this to hide their anti-social agenda. But despite the mud we will beat them!” he said.
In his speech, Illa defended that “we need to open a new stage that can be explained with two verbs: unite and serve. We want to unite Catalans and unite Catalans with the rest of Spain”. And he called on the socialists not to trust each other. “We need to continue mobilizing because Catalonia has a lot to play for.”
He also acknowledged the Prime Minister’s work with Catalonia. “You have never failed in Catalonia. And it was not easy, with the inheritance we received. With vision, with dialogue and with courage and leadership you have managed to help us and help Catalonia move forward. In some very difficult years and progressing economically”, he said.
