The leader of Ciudadanos considers that “the CEOE and the rest of the estates” want “political alternation” to return. She acknowledges that she feels “mistrust” for Feijóo and warns that she champions “the most regionalist PP”
Patricia Guasp (Palma, 45 years old) is the new leader of citizens since the month of January. Before her there were only Albert Rivera and Inés Arrimadas. The Spaniard, an unknown until now for a good part of the game, remains calm at all times. She doesn’t flinch and doesn’t scowl when she’s told naggingly that her game is paid off. Optimism is not fake. She will try until the end: Ciudadanos will stand alone in the general elections “whatever happens” on May 28.
What is it like to lead a party that everyone considers dead?I am very proud to lead this project because I am convinced that with bipartisanship nothing will change in our country. We are the only clean, reformist, and modern party. I don’t like Sánchez’s government but, of course, I don’t like the replacement that comes with Feijóo at all. He is a person I don’t trust. His project only seeks to return us to the policies of Aznar and Rajoy.Vertigo has to feel. Well, I don’t know if it’s vertigo. I have a great team in Congress, in the European Parliament, in the network of the autonomous communities and in the municipalities. I cannot feel vertigo because I am very convinced of what I do. I admit that it is not the best situation, but the one we live in in Spain is even worse.What generates so much distrust of Feijóo?I come from the Balearic Islands and there I know that regionalist PP that says one thing in one territory and the opposite in another. Feijóo champions that PP. He hints that he would agree again with the PNV. I don’t want that for the future of my country. Exclusionary nationalists cannot sustain a government. And I don’t trust Feijóo.Since he talks about the Balearic Islands. What do you think will happen in May? In the Balearic Islands the fragmentation is enormous. There are eight parties in Parliament. We Mallorcans and the Balearic Islands do not like confrontation. I think that’s why the center has a place. It is difficult for extremes to fit together as in other communities. Now we have a tremendous tripartite with Armengol, Podemos and Més, who are the partners of ERC. The worst nationalism. I don’t think Armengol is so worn out. There is a business community that is aligned with it because the PP does not excite. There we have the worst Socialist Party, but also the worst PP, which stands out, for example, with the linguistic issue.Why do you say about the language? What does the PP do?Because in the Balearic Islands the situation is worse than in Catalonia. Last year an educational law was approved by Armengol and its partners that excludes Spanish as the vehicular language. The only backbone language in the Balearic Islands is Catalan. And I was very alone during the parliamentary process. Vox did the usual thing, get up and leave without presenting amendments. And the PP always making balances. What this law does is shield a decree from the time of [Jaume] You kill.The fight against nationalism is part of the DNA of Ciudadanos. But now they focus on other debates.Fighting against nationalism is a principle for us, but it is not a programmatic idea. We cannot fight more every day to defend that freedom. I do it in the Balearic Islands. But the concerns on the street are different. The shopping basket, the mortgages, the lack of opportunity for young people, the doctors who leave Spain… Do you think that the independence movement has lost steam?It has ceased to be one of the problems of the Spanish, we see it in the data and on the street. That feeling of 2017 with the procés is not that of 2023. It is one of the conclusions that we have also drawn from this refoundation, that we could not address the same problems with the same messages. We have made a great diagnosis and now we are making proposals.
For example…We have many measures for families. For example, the proposal to give tax relief to those who have two children and who can deduct 10 points in the personal income tax. That is 1,400 or 1,500 euros per child. Another thing: we are committed to the flexible working day. I come from a private company and we like that there is a minimum fixed schedule per day and for the rest of the hours that each one can shape them as they consider. These are not four-business-day weeks. We are the only party with open, modern and Europeanist solutions. Going back to May. Will they close the blind if they don’t get representation?I am convinced that on May 28 the best result will be to be able to implement these counter-reforms from municipal and regional governments. This is not about numbers or representation, but about how decisive we can be. May is a vital ‘set ball’, I admit it. I like tennis and Rafa Nadal is from Mallorca. I’m going to do this simile. It is a ‘set ball’, but it is not a ‘match ball’. It is true that it is very important and we focus on the municipal ones.Is May not a ‘match ball’? Even if the worst possible scenario occurs, will they attend the general elections?Yes, yes and yes. To the generals and the European ones.Whatever happens on 28-M.Whatever happens. And besides, I am positive with May.Will you go to the primaries to be a candidate for the presidency of the Government?I know the statutes and when I ran to be the political leader of Ciudadanos I knew that it also meant running for primaries.So that means yes. It will come. Now I am in autonomy and it would not be responsible to talk about generals now. But I know what leading the party entails.And are you worried about having strong rivals? It is not clear if Arrimadas will also appear.The decisions will be personal and what the majority of the party also considers.He talks about being decisive in the regional elections. But in Madrid, Castilla y León and Andalusia, where they ruled, Ciudadanos has disappeared.What I am telling you is that we are going to vindicate the center and liberal space. I give you the example of Europe, where it is not understood that in Spain governments are formed from the ends to the sides, and not from the center. How can we not have a center party here? That puts us outside of Europe.These electoral processes are born from the motion of censure in Murcia. Was it the worst strategic mistake the party has made?Before answering, I want to tell you that we are not allowed to make any mistakes. PP and PSOE are even allowed corruption crimes.The PP lost Moncloa due to corruption.Well, notice that thinking about that makes me very sad because at that moment I realized that both the PP and the PSOE help each other in political alternation. That was so symbolic… I think I even cried with impotence. I admit it. Rajoy ceded a government to Sánchez to eliminate the liberal center in Spain. I don’t know if he also cried the day of the motion of no confidence in Murcia.Not that day. But thinking about the other motion… I lived it like this. Very sad. It was very symbolic. The other day in the CEOE and in other places I have seen clearly how the estates of this country want to return to alternation. They do not care. They live the same, with the same privileges, govern one or the other.Did you leave with that idea from your meeting the other day with the bosses?Yes. That everyone lives this bipartisanship very well, and from Ciudadanos we want to lead the counter-reforms in Spain. I respond to Murcia. I don’t like López Miras. But the mistake for me was governing with the PP in Murcia. The motion was an error as it was communicated and as it was done. But it cannot be that in Spain there is more penalization for an internal strategic error than for corruption.Did you think Arrimadas’ leadership would last longer?Well, Inés right now is our spokesperson in Congress. She took command at a very difficult time. For me, what she achieved in Catalonia is enormous. She is a reference, not only for Ciudadanos but for Spanish politics. Sometimes politics is not always fair. The first crisis with which he has dealt so far is that of Begoña Villacís. Was his coalition proposal inadequate in form or content? Well, I want to look to the future. Begoña was and she is our candidate. I think she misinterpreted herself. In fact, in some places we are going to compete with municipal platforms. What was never on the table in the refoundation was to do it with the PP. And that’s not going to happen.But Villacís met with Elías Bendodo.I think it is common for there to be meetings with officials from other parties… In any case, I have no record of that meeting.Next week the motion of no confidence in Tamames, which they call useless, will be debated. Not so long ago Ciudadanos supported the initiative, there were even contacts between Arrimadas and Abascal.I confirm that this motion is useless for the candidate they have proposed and for the proposing party. Vox is the useful partner of the PSOE. This instrument is democratic and perhaps at that time, with the reform of the Penal Code underway, it made sense. But I am very convinced of how useless it is. It will only give wings to Sánchez. We will vote against.We are in the middle of a debate on the pension reform. Ciudadanos has an innovative position, starting with not updating them according to the CPI.Only we dare to say that the pension system is bankrupt and unsustainable. Half of the Budget cannot be dedicated to paying debt and pensions. All the children that are born do so with a debt of 30,000 euros. Those of us who support the pensions of today are the workers and the youth. Escrivá’s reform is a hoax for European funds to reach us. Brussels only sees that the accounts balance. It is one more patch of short-termism. Feijóo came out very dignified saying that he will not be an accomplice in the hole that they are going to leave with pensions. But a few months ago he voted in favor of raising them all by 8.5%. They did not support us in that this update was progressive. The blow to the self-employed is also contrary to progressivism. The system has to be built on three principles: contributory, financial sustainability and equity. This is not happening today. Yesterday in the Balearic Islands they launched their proposal on Health, another of the electoral banners.Yes, and what I ask is not to engage in unfair competition to take away healthcare professionals, we have to control the healthcare system at the state level. There cannot be 17 different ones that generate inequality and that everything depends on the zip code where you live. We do not propose total centralization, but we ask that equality be guaranteed in the portfolio of services for patients and the conditions of the health workers. The single card is essential.