Feijóo wants Catalonia to be a key territory in the "reconstruction of Spain"

BarcelonaThe leaders of the two main Spanish parties are in Catalan lands this Sunday. While the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is at the PSC's Festa de la Rosa in Gavà, the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has visited the largest mayoralty they have in Catalonia, Badalona. As if he were in the middle of a campaign, aware of Catalonia's electoral weight, the leader of the Popular Party has called for gathering the support of a majority of Spaniards so that Catalonia can “unleash its strength again” and be a key territory in the “reconstruction of Spain”. “Catalonia is pushing for change,” predicted Feijóo during his speech this Sunday at the Festa de las Migas in Badalona, where all 6,000 tickets were sold out. From the third-largest city in Catalonia, he has defended the management of the mayor, Xavier García Albiol, and promised that, if he leads the Spanish government, Spain “will recover the protection of its borders and will recover the prestige of its passport”.

The popular leader highlighted that he wants to reach the presidency with the support of Catalonia and “for Catalonia”. “For too long there has been a mandatory discourse here, and the rest of us have had to justify, nuance or keep quiet,” he criticized. In this sense, he demanded to “turn the page” on the process and solve the problems affecting the territory. “It cannot be that it is the region with the most taxes and the fewest services, with a suburban rail service that is scary and shameful, with the worst education in Spain and the worst crime rates, where industry is being dismantled,” he lamented.

The president of the PP underscored several difficulties affecting Spain, such as “high” taxes and inflation, but highlighted “security” as the main problem. “Families have the right to live peacefully, women have the right to go to work peacefully, merchants have the right to open their shops peacefully —he claimed—. I want Spain to be a safe country and Badalona is a model to achieve it”.

The Spanish passport

Regarding migration, he has called for an “orderly” policy so that Spanish territory remains “locked and bolted” to “those who come to break the law”. “Living in Spain entails rights, but also duties. Having a Spanish passport entails rights and duties and, if not, there will be no passport —he remarked—. We will review how nationality is granted, what the criteria are for maintaining it, and how it can be lost. It is fair and reasonable”.

In this sense, regarding the situation in Ceuta, he has expressed gratitude for Catalonia’s “solidarity” with the Spanish enclave. “This shows that we are a nation because a nation is more than a flag. It is knowing that when problems reach one part of the country, another part responds”, he remarked. The Popular Party leader also pointed out the “shame” caused by the fact that Sánchez’s executive has “abandoned” Ceuta.

“Spain does not need patches, it needs a government that functions, that provides stability and solves problems”, he said. Feijóo has guaranteed that he will be “a real change” because he proposes “a democratic rupture” to the “decadence” of Pedro Sánchez. For this reason, he has asked the people of Badalona for “all the support” they have given to Albiol in order to manage to reach the Moncloa after the next elections.