President hails Catalan unity in National Day speech: 'There is no room for hate in our home'

In the traditional presiden't speech on the eve of Catalonia's National Day, Salvador Illa has championed coexistence in the territory, as well as appealed to unity of action to face "crucial" challenges.

"In Catalonia, we are, and we want to continue being, one single people," he proclaimed in his institutional address.

In this regard, he added that "no one is more Catalan than anyone else" and that "we cannot allow anything or anyone to jeopardize coexistence."

"There is no room for hate in our home," he stated.

"Let us take pride in our capacity, admirable and admired across the globe, to ensure that people born in different places, from Andalusia to Extremadura, Morocco, or Colombia, feel today like full-fledged Catalans with duties to fulfill as well," asserted the head of government.

Amid the rise of the far right, Illa wanted hailed Catalonia as a "rich and diverse" country, thanks to the human bonds forged between Catalans and people from all over the world.

Unity to face "crucial" challenges

Illa argued for acting with the same "national unity" seen 50 years ago during the historic 1976 National Day demonstration in Sant Boi, or as demonstrated this summer in the face of wildfires.

This "sense of nationhood," according to the head of the Catalan government, must be applied to "crucial areas" that "for too long have received neither the resources nor the appropriate priority," specifically education, infrastructure, access to housing, and the new regional financing model.

"In all these areas, if everyone focuses solely on their own interests, Catalonia loses. If we all think and act with the country as a whole in mind, Catalonia wins," he outlined.

Furthermore, Illa championed "technology in the service of human dignity" in the face of the rise of artificial intelligence. He also argued that we must tackle climate change with science as our guide.