The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, defended this Thursday that people naturalized by the so-called 'grandchildren's law' can vote in the elections on November 29, after the Supreme Court suspended the vote of those who do not prove to be descendants of exiles, and stressed that, if one has a Spanish passport, one must be able to exercise that right.
In an interview on COPE, Illa maintained that suffrage is a "fundamental" right and regretted that some sectors question the legitimacy of the elections, also alluding to criticism of postal voting.
"The right to vote is sacred," said the president of the Generalitat, who added: "I feel bad that 168,000 people who have a Spanish passport, due to an unprecedented decision by the Supreme Court, cannot exercise this right, when some of them have exercised it in previous electoral calls."
Montse Mínguez and the controversy over her partner's real estate properties
Asked about the resignation of the spokesperson for the Federal Executive of the PSOE, Montse Mínguez, after the controversy over her partner's real estate properties, Illa described the criticism as "often unverified and excessive," and explained that the socialist resigned due to the suffering she saw in her family environment.
Regarding whether it is compatible to defend housing and live with a person dedicated to the real estate business, the Catalan president stated that Mínguez's partner has done nothing "illegal," that he complies with the law and that he sees no contradiction in it.
Amnesty and new regional financing
In relation to the amnesty, Illa reiterated that the norm has improved coexistence in Catalonia and relied on the validity granted to it by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Regarding the new regional financing, he defended his proposal and assured that no autonomous community (CCAA) loses money with the transfer of 21,000 million euros from the State to the communities. In addition, he rejected that the model implies a "quota" system or a privilege for Catalonia.
Catalan in school and immigration
Asked about linguistic immersion in Catalonia and about the norm that obliges to teach at least 25% of classes in Spanish, Illa maintained that the Government's policies for the defense of Catalan have "very broad social consensus" and that the model guarantees, at the end of the school stage, the mastery of both languages.
Regarding immigration, the president of the Generalitat rejected linking it to the lack of security, something he described as "demagogic," and explained that security in Catalonia has improved with the increase in agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra and a 10% increase in the staff of judges.
