Catalonia’s Socialist president: tackling inequality can blunt separatist and far-right voices

Salvador Illa: ‘What most people in Catalonia want is not just to generate prosperity because that is not enough. They want wealth shared.’ Photograph: Quique García/EPA

Catalonia’s Socialist president has said his party’s focus on tackling inequality can win over voters who are tempted by pro-independence and far-right voices as he seeks to persuade Catalans of the benefits of coexistence with the central government in Madrid after years of turmoil.

Salvador Illa, a close ally of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been in the post since August 2024 and leads the first Catalan parliament in 44 years without a pro-independence majority.