Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla: "Spain needs a sensible, reasonable PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) as a state party."

Are you considering bringing forward the Andalusian elections?

My intention is to complete the full term. But there are uncertainties in the political, economic, social, and even geopolitical landscape that force us to remain open. My intention is to vote in June 2026, but it wouldn't make sense to hold two elections in a short period of time. It wouldn't make sense to hold a general election and an Andalusian election in a short period of time.

Her main rival will be María Jesús Montero, First Vice President of the Government. What do you think of her?

From what I hear on the street and what I read in opinion polls, I believe that Ms. Montero, far from being a catalyst for the Socialist Party, is more of a paralyzing factor. We're talking about someone who has been in leadership roles for more than sixteen years, under Manuel Chaves, José Antonio Griñán, Susana Díaz, Pedro Sánchez... I don't see any freshness in the Socialist Party's offer. It represents more the past than the future. In the latest poll by the Andalusian Studies Center, released this week, the PSOE is below 20% in Andalusia and would be the third political force in the provinces of Almería and Huelva, behind Vox.

The PSOE is paying the price for the Cerdán case in the polls. Will the revelations about former minister Cristóbal Montoro cost the Popular Party? Will former prime ministers José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy have to apologize?

We'll see how the judicial investigation develops. If anyone should apologize, it would be Mr. Montoro. I think it's perfectly reasonable that he immediately resigned from the Popular Party.

Vox appears to be capitalizing on the current buildup of unrest and discontent in Spain.

Vox is now a consolidated force. Like other political forces in Europe, Vox is taking advantage of people's fears to propose easy solutions to complex problems. With two long speeches, they try to offer solutions to complex problems. Immigration, for example. That's their main campaign line today. And it's paying off. I'm worried, very worried, that something so complex is being used to instill fear in society.

And what should the answer be?

What do the rest of the political forces have to do? I think we have to do two things. The first is to increase border controls. The Sánchez government has no immigration policy, which is why thousands of immigrants have arrived on our shores. Hence the unrest. Does Spain need immigrants? Yes. We need them. With a birth rate of 1.1%, who is going to maintain essential public services, pensions, public healthcare, and long-term care? Second question: who wants to work under plastic in Almería with 50% humidity and extremely high temperatures? Who wants to work in construction? There's a shortage of truck drivers, a shortage of construction workers, and a shortage of staff in the restaurant industry. Spain, therefore, needs immigrants. But they must arrive in an orderly and regulated manner, so they can receive the necessary vocational training. If tens of thousands of people arrive illegally, without training, we are ultimately condemning them to live in conditions similar to their countries of origin. And some of them turn to crime. But let us never forget that immigrants are people, people who in many cases have risked their lives in search of a better life. The quickest way to a serious immigration problem in Spain is for it to become uncontrolled.

Can the problem of unaccompanied minors in the Canary Islands be resolved?

They tell us we have to take in 700 children and adolescents, when our services are already at 100 percent. Take that, 700 children, who need specialized facilities and adequate services, psychologists, educators, social services, safety measures, rules of conduct. It's all improvised. These children can't be treated like merchandise, as the Sánchez government is doing.

How many immigrants are there in Andalusia?

The foreign population in Andalusia represents 9.8% of the total. [The percentage of foreign population residing in Spain stands at 13.4%].

Exaggeration.

Look, the government isn't doing well just because of the PSOE's corruption problems; it's doing well because Spain has stopped functioning. And proof of this is the lack of planning in immigration policy. There may be no policy on some things, but the immigration issue is a matter of state!

Polarization ruins everything.

The Socialist Party has sought polarization. I attended Pedro Sánchez's investiture debate [November 2023] and it was a very unpleasant experience. They've drawn a line: either black or white. If you're on the other side of that line, you're a fascist. You're a fascist because you don't agree with the government. And on the other side, everyone is a reasonable progressive. That's unacceptable. Spanish society is full of nuances, and those nuances must be present in the political debate. What Pedro Sánchez has sought is to corner us, to place us in one corner of the ring alongside Vox. They've tried to crush Alberto Núñez Feijóo from the very beginning. He's received all kinds of attacks and personal disqualifications. I don't think we can demand more restraint from Feijóo and the PP leadership now. I think Sánchezism will be an exception in Spanish politics. I think many socialists also want it. I speak with many socialist mayors and I get that feeling. Today's PSOE is a franchise of Sánchezism. Sánchez has appropriated the brand. Some people say: let's see if the PSOE disappears. No! Spain needs a state PSOE, a sensible and reasonable social democratic party, a center-left party with points of agreement with the Popular Party that allow for a pact.

What is the relationship between the Popular Party and the PNV today?

With the PNV, we're starting from a complex situation. A week after voting in favor of the 2018 budget and closing a legislative pact with the Popular Party, they joined Pedro Sánchez's motion of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy. It was the end of May 2018. This generated enormous distrust. That distrust can be healed, but it takes time.

Do the PP and Junts send each other encrypted messages?

Junts is, in part, the heir to Convergència i Unió. Its leader unilaterally declared the independence of Catalonia, flouting the Constitution and the Statute of Catalonia, breaking the framework for coexistence. As you can understand, it's difficult for the PP to reach an understanding with Junts. But at the recent party congress, Alberto Núñez Feijóo said he's open to dialogue with everyone, except Bildu. I think Junts has lacked self-criticism. They lost the last Catalan elections. I don't think they did a very good deal with Sánchez. I don't understand why Junts' rank and file aren't asking to turn the page. I miss a pragmatic and reasonable Catalanist party. It seems to me that Junts still yearns for the independence process . Catalan independence isn't possible. It's not possible. It's a utopia. Based on this principle of reality, politics must be reformulated.

And finally, we come to financing. Catalonia's unique financing.

Let me tell you one thing first: I think Catalonia has a bright future ahead. Catalonia has an interesting future if it abandons its nostalgia for the independence process . I think Salvador Illa has a pact with ERC that will affect him, but I also think Illa is pragmatic enough to pursue a cross-cutting policy, which is what I'm seeing from a distance. Therefore, I see Catalonia as more serene and more grounded in reality.

Unique financing.

I don't agree with a Catalan quota, just as I wouldn't agree with a Madrid quota. We must preserve territorial solidarity. Let's imagine that Germany decided to stop showing solidarity within the European Union. The Germans defend their interests but know they have to sell their products on the European market. Germany is interested in Europe having middle classes with good purchasing power. We could say the same about Catalonia. It's not in its interest to abandon solidarity. Many Catalan products are sold in Andalusia, many.

There is no talk of a Catalan quota.

We're told the autonomous regions collect taxes and then settle accounts with the State. A few months ago, Ms. Montero, Minister of Finance, said that this model was unviable. The State can never lose its role in redistributing wealth. Our region cannot accept a unilateral change to the model. We cannot accept a minority being imposed, since the Republican Left is a true minority in Spain. My obligation is to oppose it. Does Catalonia deserve better financing? Yes. Should we work to ensure better financing? Yes. Do we in Andalusia support better financing for Catalonia? Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. If we talk about a common model, we will surely have many points of agreement, for example, on the population factor. But singularity means going beyond what is common. And going beyond what is common means breaking away. Catalonia is not the Basque Country, which has a little more than the population of the province of Seville. It is not Navarre, which has a little more than the population of the city of Malaga. Catalonia has more than eight million inhabitants, and that could upset all the balances.