The Minister for Territorial Policy and leader of the Canarian Socialists, Ángel Víctor Torres, stated on Saturday that «the people of the Canary Islands have the most at stake» when it comes to their rights and progress in the forthcoming general election on 29 November, because the PP candidate, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, «is committed to the far right».
Before speaking at a pre-election rally to present the PSOE’s candidates for the Congress of Deputies and the Senate in the Canary Islands, Torres told journalists that in these elections «the people of the Canary Islands have the most at stake because, in addition to the loss of all the rights we would suffer if the far right and the extreme right were to come to power», there would also be a setback on issues affecting the islands.
He pointed out that, in the face of the migration phenomenon, «the archipelago would be turned away from» and that «the migrants who arrive will have to stay», both adults and minors.
Canary Islands: Torres warns of billions in losses and a loss of say
Furthermore, according to Torres, «the far-right and extreme-right government» would «scrap the additional 1.3 billion euros a year in funding for the Canary Islands that we have already secured through the Spanish Government and also with the agreement of part of the Canary Islands Executive».
«All the progress we have made, the joint management of the airports that we are about to sign up to, defending the status of the autonomous communities, defending our economic and fiscal system, the people of the Canary Islands will lose all of that if the far right and the extreme right come to power,» stressed the PSOE leader on the islands.
According to Torres, Feijóo's right-wing policies are jeopardising democratic rights
He also emphasised that Feijóo «is utterly committed to the ideas of the far right, with the sole aim of trying to reach the Moncloa by any means necessary and at any cost, and he does not care if this comes at the cost of losing rights, of democratic regression, or of aligning himself with parties reminiscent of dictatorship and fascism; and, therefore, he does not care in the slightest if Spain takes a step backwards».
However, he warned that «it will not be a matter of indifference to the Spanish people, nor to the people of the Canary Islands», and expressed his conviction that the PSOE will win the election.
The PSOE aims to consolidate its leading position in the Canary Islands
He emphasised that the PSOE in the Canary Islands is the political party with the largest number of representatives in the Cortes and, as such, «the voice of the Canary Islands in both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate is clearly a socialist one».
The PSOE in the Canary Islands has had eight senators, seven of whom were directly elected and one appointed by the regional government, as well as six Members of Parliament; as such, it was the leading political force in the Canary Islands in the last general election, and it now aims «not only to maintain these figures, but to improve upon them».
Torres has stated that they are «absolutely convinced» that the work carried out over this period at parliamentary level, by the Spanish Government and by the regional opposition «will bear fruit in the election on 29 November», and that «once again, the majority in the Canary Islands will back our political organisation».
PSOE candidates warn of a political step backwards
The PSOE’s lead candidate for the Congress of Deputies in Las Palmas, Dolores Corujo, has stated that the future of the Canary Islands «will be shaped by all of us, and it will be written in red ribbon» following the November elections.
José Antonio Valbuena, the Socialists‘ lead candidate for the Congress of Deputies in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has for his part emphasised that in these elections «we are facing the prospect of a Spain that would set us back 40 years».
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