Spain: Deputy PM Calvo Says ‘Unacceptable Statements Shouldn’t Be Used To Attack State’

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, responded to statements from Quim Torra by saying that “unacceptable statements shouldn’t be used to attack the State; the Government of Spain is fully aware of how and when it should meet its constitutional obligations. We ask those right-wing Spaniards engaged in radical and incomprehensible rhetoric to oppose the government but not Spain or its problems. Certain situations must be addressed with loyalty.

In response to questions from the media after her visit to the Iberian Museum in Jaen, the Calvo said that “the Government of Spain is concerned by the inaction of the Regional Parliament of Catalonia. Regional President Torra is merely attacking himself given that his parliament is so inactive; that is what concerns me and what should concern us all; it needs to meet its schedule and perform its duties, because those are constitutional and statutory obligations. In the face of such unacceptable attitudes, the Government of Spain knows when and how it needs to react. We have already demonstrated how we conceive Spain and we are closing ranks in defence of democracy and the Spanish Constitution. Such a lack of loyalty and foresight merely in order to gain politically from the problems of our country is incomprehensible”.

Calvo added that, “the Government of Spain speaks with all the regional governments out of obligation and conviction. Relations with the Regional Government of Catalonia have returned to normal. There was need for dialogue, a capacity to find ways forward and solutions that comply with the Spanish Constitution and the rules. We have set up bilateral committees that reflect the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia to speak about its problems, its infrastructure, the quality of its public services and the rights of Catalans, because this Government feels responsible for all the Catalan people, for each and every Catalan man and woman, whoever they vote for”.

Finally, regarding the controversy that the People’s Party tried to stir up by questioning the legality of developing the State Pact to Combat Gender-based Violence, Calvo called on Pablo Casado “to not break the unity on the fight to combat violence against women; the fact that he is a new leader, a young man and someone who has surely read the State Pact to Combat Gender-based Violence from beginning to end means that he must understand that the decree legally develops the pact his party voted in favour of impeccably, and that there are no possible shortcuts in the fight to combat violence against women for political gain. It would be disappointing if Mr. Casado decided to take that radical and extreme path. It would be better for him not to oppose his country on certain issues, especially the enormous tragedy of male violence against women and the murder of women”.

“The State Pact to Combat Gender-based Violence was at a stalemate and this government has sped up its development as much as possible because we cannot accept a full democracy with women in situations of insecurity, with some of them being murdered,” Calvo said.

Calvo made these statements following her visit to the Iberian Museum, where she was accompanied by the Councillor for Equality and Social Policies, María José Sánchez Rubio; the President of the Provincial Council of Jaen, Francisco Reyes; the Sub-Delegate of the Government of Spain in Jaen, Catalina Madueño; and the Delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Jaen, Ana Cobo; as well as the Mayor of Jaen, Manuel Bonilla; the Director of the Iberian Museum, Concha Choclán; the curators of the exhibition entitled “La dama, el príncipe, el héroe y la diosa”, Arturo Ruiz and Manuel Molinos; and the President of the Association of Friends of the Iberian People, Pilar Palazón.

Calvo stressed that the Iberian Museum “is one of the greatest museums in Spain, housing resources that help understand the Mediterranean and Andalusian cultures, and the unique nature of the Iberian world and our country. A large portion of GDP in Spain stems from cultural industries and the many tourist attractions we offer to the world: we have more cultural tourism every day, which is a public right as well as a public service; you need only enter this space, which is a symbol of 40 years of Spanish democracy: we have converted a prison into a museum, a place of pain and suffering into a place of creativity, freedom and the joy that culture brings into our lives”.