Gabriel Rufián: “Nothing we have done is of any use if housing is not solved”

Gabriel Rufián believes that the responses to the housing crisis are insufficient as long as the problem remains unresolved. ERC’s spokesperson in Congress, speaking to La Sexta on an issue that has been widely in the headlines in Spain, summed up his position as follows: “Nothing we have done, and nothing this government has done, however good it may be, is of any use if this issue is not solved.”

According to the Catalan politician, measures aimed at taxing those described as rentiers run into opposition from the PSOE. “For some reason or another, it always blocks them. It can be done through a Royal Decree,” he said.

Rufián directly targeted Pedro Sánchez. On Salvados, he stated: “The first thing Pedro Sánchez does to talk about housing is meet the major construction companies. The PSOE is afraid of the builders. They fund campaigns, they fund parties. The PSOE may be in Moncloa, but it does not govern.” He also sent this message to the head of the executive: “You will be pushed out because of your cowardice on social issues.”

Gabriel Rufián’s aim is to force the PSOE to change course after the next general election. He said he wanted to “subdue the State and the PSOE,” adding that his party has been doing so for six years. “Albert Rivera would be vice-president if Bildu and ERC had not stood their ground,” he claimed.

With that in mind, he defended an alliance among left-wing forces: “If Sumar, Podemos and all of us on our side cannot reach an agreement, we deserve to be swept away.” On the role Ada Colau, Barcelona’s former mayor, could play in the new parliamentary arithmetic, he offered a mixed assessment: “She has been an extraordinary activist, but as a mayor, like anyone with enormous responsibilities, she has had shortcomings. That said, if she brings in one vote, that works for me.”

ERC’s spokesperson also discussed immigration and its importance ahead of the next election. He warned: “If people feel they are not safe, Abascal comes along and takes everything.” While separating racism from the issue of public safety, he added: “The ‘Vaquilla’ of the 1980s came from La Mina in Barcelona; now he comes from somewhere else. Is it racist to say that? It is the fucking truth.”