There was great expectation this Wednesday at the La Zarzuela palace, where the socialist Salvador Illa met with Felipe VI after nine years of absence of the successive presidents of the Generalitat in the audiences with the head of state.[Estoy] “I am very happy to be here,” declared the leader of the Catalan Executive minutes before the meeting, the second between the two since Illa was sworn in on 14 August. Shortly after 11:00 a.m. Felipe VI left the audience room, where Illa was waiting for him and, amazed by the number of photographers and reporters who wanted to capture an image that had not been seen for almost a decade, the King commented: “This is not usual.”
Latest president to visit La Zarzuela and hold a private audience with the King had been Artur Mas, in 2015. From then on, with the process With the independence movement on the march, disagreements followed one another and the Generalitat broke off official relations. The audience with the head of state is a routine event that all regional presidents undergo after being invested in their respective communities. Carles Puigdemont, Quim Torra and Pere Aragonès, however, avoided this event together with Felipe VI. The audience on Wednesday was part of the process of “recovering institutional normality”, according to the Government spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque.
This “normality” comes after the long journey of processduring which the pro-independence governments in Catalonia rejected Felipe VI as head of state, especially following his speech on 3 October 2017 in which he called for the restoration of constitutional order following the illegal referendum of 1-O. The last time that Illa and the King saw each other was at the end of August, when Felipe VI went to Barcelona on an institutional visit in which he visited the Nou Port Olímpic in Barcelona. There was already great expectation at that time. The Catalan president greeted the monarch and accompanied him during the visit.
Illa’s agenda in Madrid culminated in the afternoon with the celebration of the Diada at the Blanquerna Cultural Center, which was attended by a large representation of the Government, with the first vice president, María Jesús Montero, and the ministers of Agriculture, Luis Planas; Inclusion, Elma Saiz; Industry, Jordi Hereu; Defense, Margarita Robles and Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres. In the same context of recovery of institutional relations that has characterized the day, the president He highlighted that Catalonia Day is “a celebration to share” and sent a message of recognition to the Catalans who live in the capital of Spain. In his speech, Illa stressed that “we must keep the bridges firm for when the rivers run rough, after so much time lost.”
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