Generalitat President Salvador Illa used his December 26 Christmas speech to warn about the advance of ultra-right ideas in Catalonia, Spain, and Europe, defending humanity and solidarity as essential pillars. Amid the eviction of 400 homeless people in Badalona and the growth of parties like Aliança Catalana and Vox, Illa emphasized that responses to challenges do not involve blaming the most vulnerable.
Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat, delivered his Christmas message on December 26, 2025, from the Gothic gallery of the Palau de la Generalitat, broadcast on TV3. Dressed in a dark suit and garnet tie, the socialist avoided references to PSOE scandals, independentism, or partners like ERC and Junts, focusing on human values against the rise of the far-right.
Illa warned of the 'ultra wave' threatening Catalonia, Spain, and Europe, particularly after the eviction ordered by Badalona's PP mayor, Xavier García Albiol, of 400 people without housing alternatives from an old institute. Polls like the latest Catalan CIS forecast a tie between Sílvia Orriols' anti-immigration Aliança Catalana and Junts, while Vox rises in rankings.
'Without humanity, a country cannot be built', Illa stated. 'The response to Catalonia's needs and challenges is not to blame those who have the least or those who are different', he added, defending an 'integrative and humanitarian' Catalonia that welcomes and integrates those in need. He highlighted empathy, solidarity, and responsibility as Catalan values, and the defense of the welfare state to ensure public education and health.
'Europe is at a crucial moment', he said, with democratic living models and shared prosperity at stake. He recalled 2025 challenges like fires in Lleida counties (Noguera, Segarra, Urgell), floods in the Terres de l'Ebre, and health crises such as African swine fever and nodular dermatitis. He paid tribute to firefighters who died in Santa Susanna and Paüls.
He closed with a verse from Josep Maria de Sagarra: 'Fem el possible per ser homes de bona voluntat'. Despite failing to approve budgets and extending those from 2023, Illa called 2025 a 'good year' and predicted an even better 2026. ERC, via Oriol Junqueras, demanded IRPF management as 'indispensable' for budget negotiations with Illa and Sánchez.
