"Catalonia's Socialist president has said his party's focus on tackling inequality can win over voters who are tempted by pro-independence and far-right voices, as he seeks to persuade Catalans of the benefits of coexistence with the central government in Madrid after years of turmoil. Salvador Illa, a close ally of Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has been in the post since August 2024 and leads the first Catalan parliament in 44 years without a pro-independence majority."
"Alongside Illa's economic agenda is a policy of assuaging Junts and Puigdemont, who remains in self-imposed exile in Brussels after the unilateral independence referendum that was declared illegal by Spain's constitutional court. Puigdemont is negotiating a return, using his ability to bring down Sanchez's minority government in Madrid as leverage to seek political amnesties, the transfer of migration policy to Catalonia and commitments to pursue Catalan as an official European language."
"What we are trying to do is to bring in an atmosphere of calm and coexistence, the 59-year-old said in an interview with the Guardian. What most people in Catalonia want is not just to generate prosperity because that is not enough. They want wealth shared. People will not understand if that prosperity is reserved to an elite, or to the big cities."
Salvador Illa became Catalonia's Socialist president in August 2024 and leads the first regional parliament in 44 years without a pro-independence majority. Illa emphasizes reducing inequality and spreading shared prosperity beyond elites and big cities as a way to win voters drawn to pro-independence and far-right options. The national prime minister Pedro Sánchez depends on votes from the pro-independence Junts party, but Illa's regional administration does not. Critics accuse Illa of being too close to Madrid. Carles Puigdemont remains in self-imposed exile and is negotiating a return using leverage to seek amnesties, migration powers, and recognition for Catalan in Europe.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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