The leader of the Catalan socialist and leader of the oposition, Salvador Illa, will take the stage at LSE to share his view on how to strengthen Europe from Catalonia, working with the rest of Spain to build a strong and resilient EU in an increasingly volatile world.
Since the failed bid for independence in 2017, Catalonia, historically one of Spain's wealthiest regions, has faced unique economic pressures. While Catalonia boasts a diverse economy with strong sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, and technology, political instability has occasionally deterred investment and hindered economic growth. In a recent Financial Times' article, Salvador Illa, head of Catalan Socialist Party, describes the period as Catalonia’s “lost decade” and claims secession is no more a solution to the region’s economic ills than leaving the EU was to the UK's.
On May 12, Catalonia will go to the polls after a snap call for elections. Salvador Illa, leader of the Catalan socialist party, is leading the polls. Throughout the legislature, Illa has been very active touring Catalonia, establishing himself as the main interlocutor with the business sector. He expressed satisfaction with the announcement of the electoral call: "the sooner Catalans vote, the better" and "the elections must allow us to turn the page".
The elections in Catalonia significantly alter the political landscape at the national level and portend an uncertain future for the legislature and for Catalonia. What will be the future of Catalonia and its role in Spanish and EU's challenges?
Meet the speaker
Salvador Illa Roca (La Roca del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain, 1966) had a long career in local and regional politics before becoming Minister of Health (2020-2021) during the government of Pedro Sanchez, in charge of directing the Spanish strategy to fight the COVID pandemic. He left the Ministry of Health in 2021 to become the candidate of the PSC (Catalan Socialist Party) for the Regional Catalan elections of that year. Currently, he is the Secretary General of the PSC and leader of the opposition in the Catalonian Parliament.
Meet our chair
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose is the Princesa de Asturias Chair and a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He is the Director of the Cañada Blanch Centre LSE. He is a former Head of the Department of Geography and Environment between 2006 and 2009. He is a past-President of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) (2015-2017) and served as Vice-President of the RSAI in 2014. He was also Vice-President (2012-2013) and Secretary (2001-2005) of the European Regional Science Association.
More about this event
The Cañada-Blanch Centre at LSE is the vehicle to achieve the objective of the Fundación Cañada Blanch: developing and reinforcing the links between the United Kingdom and Spain. This is done by means of fostering cutting-edge knowledge generation and joint research projects between researchers in the United Kingdom, and at LSE in particular, on the one hand, and Spain, on the other.
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