The PSC makes a call for mobilization: “Spain needs Catalonia to speak”

BarcelonaCatalonia will be decisive for Pedro Sánchez to be able to overcome the defeat predicted by the vast majority of polls and revalidate his leadership of the Spanish government. Both the PSOE and the PSC are clear about this. They foresee a major deployment in the Principality during this campaign, especially in the Barcelona area, and that their rallies and political messages will be dedicated to making constant calls for mobilization. This Thursday's campaign kick-off event was just a first taste. The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the socialist candidate for Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, have already focused much of their speech on highlighting the importance of Catalans going out to vote for the future of Spain. "Catalonia will be decisive," added the PSC leader. "Spain needs Catalonia to speak," emphasized the former mayor.

The main threat that the PSC leaders have brandished to activate the Catalans has once again been the potential arrival of a government of the PP and Vox. The socialist leaders have once again put the Spanish right and far right in the same bag, and have warned that both parties put access to housing, pensions, self-government in Catalonia, or the Catalan language at risk. Issues that the PSC will put at the forefront this campaign. On the other hand, they have at all times ignored the most thorny issues for the party and those that could punish them most electorally, especially infrastructure like Rodalies or the AVE —the Urda accident has not been mentioned— and the Ceuta crisis.

In fact, they have focused above all on housing. Illa and Hereu have counterattacked the criticisms regarding the rise in rents during recent years, despite the fact that the socialist family governs at Moncloa, the Palau de la Generalitat, and the Barcelona City Council. Thus, the socialists have decided to bring onto the stage the former Minister of Housing and candidate for Barcelona for the Senate, Raquel Sánchez, as an example of the policies in this area. Sánchez, in this sense, has assured that the measures that the socialists have applied in this field "work," and has ensured that apartment prices in the Catalan capital have fallen. And, once again, they have warned of the possible consequences that they consider an electoral victory for the PP and Vox would have. "If they had governed, today rents would be 400 euros more expensive," stated the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni.

From the auditorium of the l’Illa Diagonal shopping center, socialist leaders have focused their speeches —and it is expected that they will do so throughout the entire campaign— on boasting about the government’s actions in the State. They have assured that Sánchez’s government has increased the minimum professional wage and pensions, and, among other things, has lowered the price of public transport. They have also lashed out at the criticisms from the PP and Vox regarding the current pension system. “It is the most beautiful exercise in solidarity; my salary and Jordi [Hereu]’s are paying the salaries of our parents,” said Illa.

The President of the Generalitat and the acting Minister of Industry and Tourism—who was the only one to deliver the speech entirely in Catalan— have also established Pedro Sánchez as the guarantor of Catalonia’s self-government and the country’s own language against the PP and Vox. Thus, the President of the Generalitat has limited the options on November 29th to two sole options. “This is about choosing between [Alberto Núñez] Feijóo and [Santiago] Abascal or Pedro Sánchez, those who want to finish off self-government or Pedro Sánchez,” insisted Illa. On this point, he also criticized Junts for claiming that it is not in any bloc. “If you are in the middle and you are not clear about this, step aside and stay out of the way. What is at stake is very serious,” noted the President of the Generalitat.

The barbs, however, were not only directed at the PP and Vox, but socialist leaders also lashed out at Front Ampli, Podem, and Esquerra Republicana. “It seems they have already given everything up for lost,” said Illa. “They have somewhat shattered their space, and the fight is clearly against who it should be: the right and the extreme right,” added Hereu. In this sense, the President of the Generalitat made a call for the useful vote and invited —using the example of a neighbor who stopped him on the street— those who feel “very left-wing” to vote based on “reasoning” and “not from the heart”.

“Historic victory”

There is a great sense of optimism among the socialist ranks. Hereu is the winning horse and everyone expects to obtain great results in Catalonia, despite the fact that most polls predict a defeat at the national level. They want to surpass even the 19 seats out of the 48 that are at stake which they won in the previous Spanish elections—although there are polls that predict a certain decline for them. A high representation that at the time was decisive, along with that of Esquerra and Junts, for Sánchez to be invested as president of the Spanish government. “We are not going to win, but rather to obtain a historic victory for the PSC,” Hereu has remarked.