S.alvador Illa, the socialist candidate in Sunday’s Catalan elections, has pledged to focus on improving public health, reactivating the economy and bringing the region together after “10 lost years of increased divisions” caused by failures, unilateral attempts to break away from the rest of Spain.
Illa, who served as Spain’s Minister of Health before stepping down last month to contest election to the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC), said the coronavirus pandemic had highlighted the need to overhaul the region’s health system and put more into it. to invest and to restore the economy. .
“People are becoming increasingly aware of the need for basic agreement on how to improve and strengthen our public health system, and of the need to reactivate the economy so that no one is left behind and so that people can be helped to return to work,” he said. “That has to happen in the coming months or the next year, because this is really a crucial time to reactivate the economy and make the most of the European [Covid recovery] funds.”
Illa said he plans to inject € 5 billion into the Catalan health service over the next five years, to bring in more health workers and additional technology resources, and to strengthen the primary care system so that everyone can see a doctor within 48 hours.
“The pandemic has also shown that there is a need for coordination between care homes for the elderly and health centers so that they can work together,” he said. “There also needs to be a new mental health plan, because the pandemic and all the fatigue it brings has exacerbated mental health problems, and that’s something we need to work on.”
Illa’s economic plans include the creation of 140,000 jobs within three years to help Catalonia regain its place as the region that generates most of Spain’s GDP. “Since 2018, that has been lost to the Madrid region,” he said. “I want to work with the Spanish government on projects with European funds in the automotive, tourism and chemical industries, all very important economic areas.”
Illa, who served as mayor of the Catalan city where he was born before venturing into regional and national politics, also said swift action was needed to heal the divisions in Catalonia, which remains fairly evenly divided on independence after the illegal attempt to secede in 2017 A recent survey found that 47.7% of Catalans are against independence and 44.5% for.
“I want to bring about a change in Catalan politics after 10 lost years of growing division, increased economic downturn and lost prestige,” he said, adding that he had discovered “a certain fatigue” in the region and the desire to open a new chapter. in Catalan politics.
“To change all that, we need to bring Catalans back together, with the rest of Spain and with the rest of Europe. We need to sew Catalonia back together and reunite it. “
However, such hope remains a long way off, at least politically. Polls suggest Sunday’s election will be a close race between the PSC and the two main pro-independence parties – Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Together for Catalonia – while the pro-independence parties have agreed not to make deals that would help the socialists in government.
Pere Aragonès, the acting president of Catalonia, who is the candidate for the ERC, dismisses Illa’s approach as “amnesia” and argues that his party is not “turning the page” while several independence leaders remain in prison for their role in the doomed attempt at separation. .
Illa has also ruled out pacts with any party whose “primary government objective is Catalan independence… because that would be a failed government on both sides. I am never going to work from the government for Catalan independence because I think it hurts and divides Catalonia. “
Illa’s critics and detractors have questioned his handling of the pandemic as Health Minister and his decision to leave the post to work in Catalonia. Spain, which appears to be slowly emerging from the third wave of the virus, has recorded more than 3 million cases and nearly 64,000 deaths.
“The people criticizing me now are the people who asked me to leave before I announced my candidacy,” said Illa. ‘As soon as I said I was running, they told me not to go. I decided to flee because my party asked me to do so and because this is a political problem of the highest order in Catalonia and Spain. “
He said he had stepped down after the vaccination process had begun in Spain and across Europe, and that Spain had already learned many lessons from the pandemic.
When asked what his biggest regret was as Health Minister, Illa said: “Looking back, I think that not only I, but all my colleagues regret not acting sooner. But it is easy to judge with everything we have seen and with all the information we have now … If we knew what we know now, of course we would have done things much earlier. “
The former minister has been criticized for refusing to take a Covid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for a TV debate with his eight fellow candidates earlier this week. Illa said he had followed health protocols, namely that a PCR test was only needed for people with Covid symptoms or who had been in close contact with someone with the virus. He said neither was the case, adding, “As Secretary of Health, I have always maintained that PCR tests should be taken when needed and not on a whim, which is why I have not taken any.”
On Thursday, Illa denied suggestions that he had declined the test because he had jumped in line to get vaccinated. “I have not been vaccinated and all of Spain knows that,” he said.