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Known marathon fan, where after a legislature built an alternative to the Catalan Government from the opposition, it managed to defeat the independence movement and consolidate the PSC as the first party in Catalonia.
With 99.03% of the votes counted, This Sunday, the socialist formation obtained an increase of 9 seats and reached 42 in the regional Parliamentfollowed by the independence parties Junts (of former president Carles Puigdemont), with 35, and ERC, 20.
Salvador Illa Roca (La Roca del Vallès, Barcelona, 1966) landed in 2021 on the front line of Catalan politics under the so-called “Illa effect” -due to his media impact as Minister of Health during the pandemic- and, three years later, as leader of the PSC and head of the opposition in Catalonia, he imprinted an “Illa style”, based on dialogue and pact.
After inheriting a PSC that emerged from the desert journey it suffered during the first years of the process, Illa managed to consolidate it as the first Catalan party in the last four electionswith victories in general elections, municipal elections and the last two regional elections.
However, the bittersweet victory of the last regional elections, in which The PSC was the party with the most votes but tied for seats with the ERC and the independence movement allied to govern, sending Illa to the opposition.
He applied his status as a long-distance runner to his actions as head of the opposition in Catalonia.which focused on building an alternative to the Catalan Government of Pere Aragonès (ERC), trying to approve important laws such as the Catalan one in schools or the latest budgets, thus managing to break the bloc policy established with the ‘process’.
Illa’s fate runs parallel to that of the President of the Government and leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, since A broad victory that brings socialists closer to the Generalitat is a breath of oxygen for Spanish socialism and justifies the commitment to the amnesty law.
Extremely early riser, his alarm goes off long before the roosters crow: at 5:20 am, whenever he can, he goes for a run to clear his mind; At 6:45am they pick him up at home and before 8am he is already in the office with a green tea in hand. A rhythm that he maintains apparently without any problems and that his collaborators have had to get used to.
With religious beliefs, he faces the race for the presidency of the Generalitat “blessed” by Pope Franciswhom he visited just a week before the Catalan elections were called, in a meeting in the Vatican that altered his characteristic nerves of steel.
Knowing your faith, Catholic PSC activists sent him an image of Saint Pancrassince the date of the elections, May 12, coincides with that saint’s day.
“It is the saint that is invoked when you want to claim prosperity, it is a good omen. It will be a good day for Catalonia and Spain“, said the day after the electoral advance, Illa, who placed the image of the saint in her office.
The PSC found the leader it had been looking for for a long time in Illa, party sources admitwho, with all the polls in his favor, managed to win the Catalan elections in terms of votes and seats for the first time.
Born into a working family in La Roca del Vallès (Barcelona), Illa stands out for being a calm, organized and courteous person..
Its collaborators emphasize its non-combustible energy. As if afraid of being bored, Always try to keep your schedule busy and fill in the gaps with visits, meetings or calls.s, which often happen during car trips.
Graduated in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona and MBA from IESE, He has extensive management experience as a councilor and mayor of La Roca del Vallès, a city he governed for ten years. and where he took his first steps in politics with the help of Romà Planas, special delegate of former president Josep Tarradellas and former mayor of the municipality.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
