Josean Izarra Bilbao
Bilbao
Updated Sunday, March 31, 2024-00:10
Alba García
(Bilbao, 1988) is the
youngest candidate for
lehendakari
in an election in which almost all candidates make their debut. She is also the most smiling despite the fact that nothing surrounding this unforeseen political debut is easy. Psychologist and social activist,
Alba García
maintains a kind and serene tone even when trying to justify why Sumar and Podemos have ended up facing each other at the polls despite knowing that this "no agreement" directs the two acronyms of the Basque "confederal left" towards an electoral precipice in Euskadi.
They criticize her for having committed at least a small betrayal by going from being a Podemos worker to assuming from one day to the next to be the candidate for '
lehendakari
' of Sumar. I honestly say that I have been working in the left-wing space for many years and it is made up of many parties and people who are not active in any party. I am very calm because I come from this space, I am in this space and I will continue here. Indeed, I was a Podemos worker, I had an employment contract and as far as I know, that does not make me anyone's property. When they offer you something so beautiful, a precious opportunity to be a candidate for
lehendakari
of your country, I make a decision based on enthusiasm and commitment to this confederal left-wing space. And that's why I say yes. By running on two different lists, there will be many Basques who will ask themselves the question: why should we vote for Sumar and not Podemos? We have a coalition in which we are Sumar Mugimendua, Ezker Anitza and Equo. Berdeak. We are in a process of construction and reconstruction of a space in which twenty political formations in the State are involved. I am very happy because it is a project for the future and it is what we are trying to convey to the Basques. A political project that wants a better country. A project that now governs the State with five ministries, with a lot of deputies and that has managed to bring together all the left-wing parties in the country. Did Sumar need to not go in coalition with Podemos to establish itself as a party in the whole of Spain and also in Euskadi? There have been many statements about the no agreement but it has nothing to do with the reinforcement of the Sumar brand. Any relationship between two, three or twenty involves a relationship of trust that the other party [for Podemos Euskadi] could not guarantee. When you have a state leadership that draws a line for you, that decides to join the Mixed Group [in Congress] and that tells you what its objectives are in Galicia, they are making their intentions quite clear to you. Is it an extra pressure to debut in politics with polls that predict that Sumar and Podemos could be left out of Parliament? The polls are showing chup
-chup elections,
as if cooking because it is not known who is going to win and because they show some data disparate Nothing is clear yet, but although it is an exceptional challenge due to my condition as a woman and young person, I am also clear that we have a good project. We come from a 40-year-old PNV government with the PSE-EE, which is a government that has run out of ideas; It is a government from another century. If, as the polls suggest, Imanol Pradales (PNV) and Pello Otxandiano (EH Bildu) tied in seats, would you, as a parliamentarian from Sumar, whom of the two would you vote to be
lehendakari ?
?It is a complex question to answer now. But if I had to vote for one of the two, I would first have to know what each of them are going to do. More than who I'm going with, I'd like to know why. It is difficult for me to go with someone who does not put progress policies at the center. The Basque Government has not made progress policies for 40 years, they have forgotten the energy transition and environmentalism and we are facing a destroyed Osakidetza [the Basque Health Service] that has clear people responsible. It is difficult for me to see Mr. Pradales as
lehendakari . PNV, PSE-EE and, to a lesser extent, the PP are reminding the leaders of EH Bildu of their relationship with ETA terrorism. Would Sumar be willing to co-govern with the
nationalist
left?
in Euskadi? Talking about ETA is a separate chapter. This space is characterized by the defense of democratic memory. But I also think we are in a different time. Basque society is a mature society and I do not think it is good to bring up the issue of ETA every time there is an electoral campaign. It is unfair to the victims, it is a lack of respect for this society that has suffered so much. When we talk about ETA we have to be a little cautious...The PSE does maintain, for the moment, this ethical red line with EH Bildu because it does not condemn terrorism. Is EH Bildu a party comparable to the rest? At the moment when That there are Basque citizens who place this party [for Bildu] in a place and give them a series of votes deserve all respect. What the PSE does will have to explain it. Within the PSOE they have their discrepancies. Why do the prices of owned and rented apartments continue to rise when Euskadi has had its own law since 2015? It is useless to have laws if you do not then develop them and make specific housing policies. The Basque Country has had a housing law since 2015 stuck in a drawer. And this Basque government has been able to regulate rents and has not done so. The PNV and the PSE understand housing as a market good and not as a subjective right. Now there are 65,000 housing seekers in Etxebide (Basque Housing Service); In Bilbao alone there are 15,000 signed up waiting for a home. This government [by Iñigo Urkullu] has been making fun of the housing problem all its life. Basque society has had a reputation for being hard-working and entrepreneurial but now it is breaking records in absenteeism and strikes, what has happened? Basque society continues to be hard-working. It is not good to mix absenteeism and strikes and how hard-working you are. Euskadi has a long history of unionism and that is a treasure. If in Euskadi we have better working conditions it is because there has been a lot of union struggle here. In absenteeism we have to think about mental health and how we work. We must delve into the motivation for absenteeism because half of the absences have to do with how work is organized in companies and with mental health.