Salvador Illa, PSC candidate, finds himself in the eye of the debate hurricane and is confronted with an 'all against Illa' that, paradoxically, puts him in a central position unexpected. From the beginning, the arrows have flown in the direction of the socialist leader, who with a calmness bordering on coldness, fended off every attack with the skill of a master chess player. Representatives of the pro-independence parties and the Catalan right have taken turns questioning his past management and his future proposals, in an attempt to destabilize the image of stability and experience that Illa projects.
Both the ERC candidate, Pere Aragonesas representative of Junts, Joseph Rulland the leader of the PP, Alejandro Fernandez, have gone against Salvador Illa, just as they have done from the CUP, Ciudadanos and Vox. “Be careful not to get Feijóo's face” [en relación a las encuestas]Aragonès snapped at him, while Fernández accused him of lying and not stopping to say 'nonsense'. For his part, Carlos Carrizosa, from Ciudadanos, has assured that Sánchez will not “let him become president” to please the Catalan independence movement.
An Illa of proposals against attacks
Illa's central position has not only been a matter of attacks received, but also of the ability to project a future vision for Catalonia that transcends traditional dividing lines. At a time when citizens demand solutions and not just speeches, Illa has managed to present herself as the candidate of concrete proposals, pragmatism and efficient management.
At the end of the debate, there was a feeling that although all the candidates had had their moment, it was Illa who, against all odds, emerged stronger. The “all against Illa” became a boomerang which, when it returned, exposed the lack of a common project among its opponents and consolidated the image of the socialist as the candidate capable of occupying the space of centrality take where Catalonia needs to move. a future of stability and progress, between the pro-independence intersections and the hatred of the right.
Salvador Illa has been strict and blunt throughout the debate and despite all the criticism. “There is already a majority for independence in parliament it hasn't worked. We need an immediate vote for the PSC to open a new phase in Catalonia because we already have the other one and it has not worked,” said the leader of the PSC, adding that “in 12M there are only two roads will be: continue to break the blockade or open a “new phase in Catalonia”. “I offer myself to lead this new phasein which we are going to unite and serve all Catalans,” he emphasized in the same sentence to show his moderate, decisive and loyal position towards Catalonia.
Drought, Catalan and processes
Other central topics of the debate were Catalan and the drought in which Catalonia is immersed, as well as the process. It is with regard to language that the Vox candidate, Ignacio Garrida, has taken the opportunity to show off his radicalism: “You guarantee Arabic and not Spanish.” And he has come back claiming that “Catalans today cannot teach their children in Spanish.”
In the field of education, Aragonès has launched an election proposal: free education from 0 to 3 years. On the other hand, Illa has opted for the 'de-bureaucratization' of education.
And regarding the drought, the eight candidates debated and assessed which measures could be introduced in the short term. Salvador Illa has defended that the internal basins can be self-sufficient and rules out a transfer from the Ebro, while Rull has lamented how “devastated” the members of the tripartite left the basins, which in his opinion prevented the implementation of “structural reforms”. “
For his part, Garriga has blamed the lack of water in the community on PSC, PP and Junts, parties that “failed to manage” the region's water crisis: “If Catalans do not have water, it is because of PSC, PP and Junten”.
As for the process, already in the last minutes of the debate the confrontation between the candidates has gained the upper hand, although the current president has been particularly forceful. “Yes, if we have the strength to continue with the presidency of the Generalitat. We opted for negotiations, we achieved the release of political prisoners, pardons and amnesty. In the same way they told us that amnesty was impossible, we will make the referendum possible in this legislature,” Aragonès concluded.
However, Illa has once again emphasized in this area her central role and her desire to find a solution, defending the amnesty and opposing the referendum: “It is time to stop obsessively emphasizing what divides Catalans and to go for what unites us.”
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