Yolanda Díaz, on the PP pacts with Vox: "Feijóo has no scruples or country project"

He hopes to return to "govern with the PSOE" and do it "better"

The Sumar candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, has opined that the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, "has no scruples or a country project" in relation to the agreements that the blue formation has closed with Vox in various communities autonomous.

"Feijóo has no scruples or a country project. And, as he has always done in Galicia, he will do whatever is necessary, and against whoever, and will use the necessary mechanisms to try to win," Díaz assessed in an interview in the newspaper ' El País' collected by Europa Press.

Along these lines, Sumar's candidate has opined that "Spain thinks that (Feijóo) is a moderate man", although, in her opinion, "he is not at all." "An aspirant to govern a country through lies and whatever means is necessary puts democracy in check and this is also what these elections are about," she added.

Asked about one of her most striking proposals for this legislature, that of giving 20,000 euros to young people who turn 18 so that they can "undertake or train" --an amount that would be delivered without taking into account family income criteria-- , has ensured that the measure is compatible with the revaluation of pensions.

"The Spanish system has an income problem, not a spending one. We want to go much further. We have to continue uncapping the maximum contribution bases. Spain has very moderate social spending on pensions, we are at levels that are more than acceptable. It is ideological to discourse of pensions. The right-wing wants to go towards a privatization system called euphemistically 'mixed pension system', that is, capitalization and clearly, "he said.

In this sense, he has deepened that the delivery of 20,000 euros to young people who turn 18, a measure that is estimated to have a cost of around 10,000 million euros, is "a modest measure", although the amount is "important" for "moderate income" families

"There will be an instance and an essential administrative procedure to request it at 18 years of age. And from there there will be a process of accompaniment because it is not the same for a young person who wants to train as if he wants to start a commercial activity, set up a hairdresser or a bookstore. There will be an accompaniment with the guarantee that at the estimated age they will receive that income, "he explained.

The second vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy has also assessed another of Sumar's main proposals for the general elections on July 23, that of reducing the working day from 40 to 32 hours a week at the end of the next legislature.

"In Spain, collective agreements are already being negotiated in less than 40 hours and most are already in 38 and a half hours. Therefore, the proposal is to go to 37 and a half hours in 2024 and then open a process of social dialogue to reach an agreement. The working day is essential to improve productivity and we have a very serious problem with productivity that is never talked about", he indicated.

CATALOUNIA

On the other hand, the leader of Sumar has valued the words of the spokesman for the Republican Left (ERC) in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, who a few days ago said that he is more "scared" by Yolanda Díaz than the president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, and gave as an example the fact that the coalition has "left in the ditch" the minister Irene Montero, excluded from the lists.

About this, the leader of Sumar has stressed that Rufián must explain what he said. "I dedicate myself to fixing people's problems and I think that Mr. Ruffian has to explain those words. I am never going to confuse myself with an adversary. They have taught me at home, and only the fact of advancing a little in rights for workers and workers already makes me feel better", he pointed out.

Regarding territorial policy in Catalonia, the second vice president has assured that she defends the dialogue between the regional and central governments.

"When I say dialogue, it is doing as we have done in the labor reform, sitting down every day, the teams and the hours that are necessary, and taking it seriously. In Catalonia we have already turned the page and we are in another key," he pointed out.

In this context, Díaz has ruled out that the possible agreements between the Generalitat and the central government include the independence of Catalonia. "It is evident that this is not on the table. I want a country with rigor in which Catalonia is inside. And I am going to work so that this happens like this. But I want a country in which we have the best Catalonia, the one of the Assembly of Catalonia, the one for culture, the one that fights and expands democracy. We need it more than ever. The Catalonia that was key in our country", he asserted.

GOVERN WITH THE PSOE

On the other hand, asked if she would feel "comfortable" governing again in coalition with the PSOE and with Pedro Sánchez as president of the Executive, Díaz stressed that she has nothing but "thankfulness and affection" for the government leader.

"I have nothing but gratitude and affection for Mr. Sánchez and, in difficult times in the Government of Spain, part of the project carried out by the Ministry of Labor has gone ahead because the president trusted me," he stressed.

"Sumar is going to govern with the PSOE and, in addition, we are going to govern better. The progressives want a change for the better. And I am not talking about the management. I am talking about how we are going to walk in that coalition, how we are going to lead to Spanish society and how we are going, methodologically, to do things", he added.