"My proposal is to open a new stage of transformation in Catalonia (...), which must once again make public services the top priority of the [regional] government institutions," said Salvador Illa at a meeting this week in Madrid with journalists from various countries, including the Lusa agency. The Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC, the regional structure of the Spanish socialists) governed the region between 2003 and 2010 and now has the possibility of returning to the autonomous executive (known as the Generalitat). Over the last 14 years, nationalist and separatist parties have been at the helm of the Generalitat and the region has undergone attempts at self-determination such as that of 2017, when there was even a unilateral declaration of independence. For Salvador Illa, Spain's Minister of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the last ten years, in particular, have been "a lost decade" for Catalonia. "The assessment of the management is not bad, it is terrible. As far as independence is concerned, nothing has been achieved, only suffering, pain and social division. And as far as management is concerned, there has been a setback in practically everything," he said. The leader of the Catalan socialists gave as examples worse rates in education; an 8.4% increase in child poverty; and the absence of investments in renewable energies or in infrastructures, such as those needed to respond to the prolonged drought that the region is facing. According to Illa, the separatists did not even make full use of the region's autonomy instruments and left available funds for investments unexecuted. The socialist says that he is therefore running in the 12 May elections with a program focused on public services and social policies such as housing, promising to "exercise the powers of self-government", which recognise the "own political personality" of a region that, he assures, has one of the highest levels of autonomy in Europe. "I think that this is what is in tune with the majority of Catalan society," he said. Illa stressed that after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine - in which the importance of European unity and supranational forums became evident - and the failure of the independence process, Catalan society has changed and no longer wants "divisive" proposals, such as the referendum with which the separatist parties are running in these elections. As the PSC candidate pointed out, in the last Spanish national elections, in July 2023, Catalonia already gave victory to the socialist party (PSOE), led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who pardoned and has now agreed to amnesty Catalan separatists (as a result of negotiations with parties in the region that made his governments viable). "Catalan society went through a very complicated moment in 2017, with a lot of emotional charge. And what I see is a desire to leave that period behind," said Salvador Illa, who considered that the pardons and amnesty contribute to this objective and are well accepted in the region and will be increasingly so, even if "mistrust" remains in some sectors. The PSC was already the most voted party in the previous regional elections, in 2021, but tied with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) in the number of deputies. The socialists were then unable to go to the Generalitat due to an independence coalition, formed by the ERC and Together for Catalonia (JxCat, of former regional president Carles Puigdemont), which broke up in 2022. This year's polls give a clear victory to the socialists, with predictions that they could elect ten deputies, more than JxCat or ERC. Salvador Illa says that Puigdemont, who has been living in Belgium since 2017 to escape Spanish justice, but is a candidate in these elections, "is the past", while the current president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, of the ERC, who is running again, is "a failure". If they were to ally themselves again, they would have to explain "how they are going to go through the altar again" after the 2022 divorce, added Ila, who, however, for now, only refuses post-electoral agreements with parties with "hate speech". The current government of Pedro Sánchez was made viable and continues to depend in parliament on both the ERC and the JxCat, but Salvador Illa downplays the dimension of any possible impacts of the Catalan elections on the governability of Spain, considering that a change in the central executive is not advantageous for the independentists. This meeting of Salvador Illa with journalists in Madrid was prior to Pedro Sánchez's announcement that he is considering resigning and that he will make a public statement about his future next Monday. Read Also: Sánchez's resignation threat marks the start of the campaign in Catalonia (Portuguese version)