The President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, spoke this morning of how the ministers that make up his Government as of today share“the call to public service”, “the belief that institutions can transform Catalan society”, “to improve it”.

During the ceremony, which was held in the Saint George Hall of the Palau de la Generalitat, the head of the Executive urged its new members to form part of a government that is “cross-cutting”, “representative of the country both territorially and socially”. As a Government, he said, “we will assume the search for the common good and the defence of Catalonia”, “forming part of the Catalan nation, of the shared public space that is Spain, a multinational Spain, and of the shared public space that is Europe, a Europe with a federal horizon”.

Within the framework of “the third great transformation of Catalonia”, a time “of epochal change, with challenges, risks and opportunities”, the President stressed “dialogue, reflective and unhurried analysis, and the search for consensus and agreements”, as a method to “move forward, to transform”. He also added the need to“decide, making decisions as befits a government”, “not lightly, but not by dragging things out unnecessarily”.

Likewise, the head of the Catalan Government presented the new Ministry of Language Policy, with Minister Francesc Xavier Vila, the result of an agreement with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, which highlights “the importance of defending the language as the backbone of the Catalan nation”. He also highlighted the creation of the Ministry of Sports, together with Minister Berni Álvarez.

Illa expressed his thanks to Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Comuns, “who have allowed this government to be formed”. The Catalan Government, he insisted, “will honour the commitments it has made”.He also praised “the exemplary change of office by President Aragonès and the outgoing government”,and the outgoing ministers' dedication to Catalonia.

Finally, Illa explained that his obsession is to“govern for everyone”,and he has committed himself to working“to give shape to the hope of a people, Catalonia”.“Always with a desire to live, and to live together”, he said.