Illa to Feijóo on pensions: 'You already lost an election with this'

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, claims that Catalonia will tip the scales in the general elections on November 29. From the National Council of the PSC, he reproaches the leader of the PP for his stance on pensions.

From the National Council of the PSC, Salvador Illa has predicted that Catalonia will tip the scales in the elections on November 29, and made it clear that the Catalan socialists will work to ensure that Pedro Sánchez returns to preside over the Government. The information, reported by El Plural, details that at this extraordinary meeting the lists for the general elections were ratified.

At the same event, Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism, was confirmed as the head of the list for Barcelona, after having been proposed a week earlier. Illa took the opportunity during his speech to frame the electoral debate as a choice between two options and focused much of his criticism on Alberto Núñez Feijóo, for his defence of the current pension system.

Illa responded to the ideas for change put forward by the PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz. According to the socialist leader, pensioners are 10 million people in Spain and have the right to receive a dignified pension after a lifetime of work.

"Public pension systems do work"

The Catalan president also responded to Feijóo's warning that, if he reaches La Moncloa, he will ask for "sacrifices" from the citizens. His response was direct: "If you want sacrifices, you make them at home. If you want to repeal, you repeal yourself."

Illa recalled that the PP already paid in the general elections of 2023 for its stance on pensions, which in his opinion was one of the reasons why Feijóo did not secure enough votes to govern. And he said it in a personal tone to the popular leader.

"But, Alberto, you already lost an election with this"

In his speech, Illa accused the PP of not believing in solidarity or generosity. According to him, the popular party rejects the idea that working generations pay the pensions of those who have already worked, and opts to capitalise savings and leave it in the hands of a banker. That model, he argued, "wherever it has been implemented has failed and has not worked".

In contrast to that proposal, Illa defended that the public system allows for a supportive society if everyone contributes, and cited the Government of Pedro Sánchez as an example. "We are seeing how everyone receives their pension on time," he stated. The general elections will be held on November 29, and in Catalonia, the debate on pensions will remain present in the campaign.