Despite being unsettled by the possibility that Pedro Sánchez might leave the Spanish government this Monday, the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) has everything at stake in the May 12th elections and is therefore seeking to mobilize the electorate as much as possible. In an event at La Llotja de Lleida this Friday, with 550 people present, the Socialist candidate Salvador Illa positioned himself as the counter to "the right" and the pro-independence parties: "The right has told me that I'm pro-independence, I think we're where we need to be, we don't veto, we don't threaten, we don't block. What we do is propose, solve, dialogue and govern." "It's time for proposals, solutions and public politics," he stressed.
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The Socialist candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat said that western Catalan territories of Ponent were "decisive" for the result of May 12th and urged voters to mobilize: "I ask for voter turnout and a clear signal in favour of opening a new phase in Catalonia that leaves behind 10 years that have not been good". Along these lines, Salvador Illa recalled the PSC's bid to open a "third great transformation" in the country and spoke out against those who "divide": "We need to focus on what unites us, the majority of Catalans agree that the priority is to strengthen security policies, combat the drought, improve education, have a housing policy that allows young people to start their life projects and increase up to 7% of GDP the investment in healthcare".
The first secretary of the PSC also referred to the situation of Pedro Sánchez, urging mobilization to make the step from the "individual resistance" of Pedro Sánchez to a "collective resistance": "We must stand with prime minister Sánchez. The more they attack him, the more we will mobilize against politics understood as an occupation of power at any cost." At the same time, Illa affirmed that he will "respect the period of personal reflection" of the Spanish PM: "We will encourage him, accompany him and tell him that we need him".
The appearance of minister Albares
The leader of the PSC, who was flanked by former Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Lleida mayor Félix Larrosa, and two of the party's Lleida candidates Òscar Ordeig and Judit Alcalá, had the support of an unexpected guest. During Ordeig's speech, the foreign minister José Manuel Albares entered the site where the Socialist rally was taking place. Albares was received with an ovation and, at the end of the event, went on stage to support Illa. In fact, the head of the ministry of Foreign Affairs was in Lleida for a book launch.