Artur Mas and Iñigo Urkullu highlight the importance of commitment to the common good and the vocation of service at La Salle-URL

The origins in politics and the importance of knowing how to listen

The two leaders reviewed their origins, in which Urkullu recalled that “when I joined the Basque Nationalist Party the Lehendakari was in exile and it was an underground party”, and Artur Mas recalled his beginnings in the private sector: “I trained to work in the private world and I did so for several years of my life. And I believe that from the private world the public world is unknown and often from the public the private world is unknown”. Mas also focused on his learning process in politics: “My first political school was in a city council and in the opposition. The presidency was not part of my horizon, and even less so in our case when we had a figure like President Jordi Pujol”.

Throughout the discussion, Mas and Urkullu have analyzed the role of their respective families and the support they have provided them during their political careers, nurturing their vocation for public service and providing support in a circumstance that they did not choose, but that they find themselves in. Urkullu has mentioned the importance of knowing how to surround themselves: “We must know how to listen, know how to surround ourselves with the best. But I believe that knowing how to share is essential. Politics must be understood in a shared way with those who exercise it”. He added: “We must have the least possible vanity. We are not free to have a degree of vanity, but in the exercise of politics and the vocation for public service it is important to know that one is one among many and that it is necessary to act with the least possible vanity.” Thus, Mas has explained his vision of leadership: “Leading is having a project, knowing how to listen, surrounding yourself with good people, knowing how to decide and assuming the consequences of your decisions”.

The difficult moment of stepping aside

The moderator of the debate, Santi Vila, added a theme that unites the trajectories of the two speakers, the fact of taking a step aside in a moment of plenitude. Urkullu explained that “it was easy to take a step aside because at PNB we have a culture and it is that of respect for those who have preceded us”, and added: “If they had asked me if I wanted to continue, I would have had to think about it; if they had asked me if I wanted to leave, I would have said yes. It is important to know how to let go. Nothing lasts forever, everything has its time and its limitations”. On the other hand, Mas stated that he could not explain the same experience as Iñigo Urkullu: “I cannot explain the same experience. For him it was easy, for me it was hard to bear, but I did it. At that moment, if I stayed, which I had the right to do, I was putting at risk everything we had going on. If I left, which I did not know what would happen, I was giving a chance to everything I had helped to build”.

Finally, both speakers analyzed the times of disaffection and uncertainty that we are living in and the importance of the common good to combat false information and authoritarian temptations. Urkullu concluded: “Politics has a characteristic that is communitarianism, the common good. And it is the way to commit”. For his part, Mas wanted to emphasize the importance of training and having a critical spirit, both on social networks and with the media: “Before forming a definitive opinion on how to orient your political preferences, it is good to read, educate yourself, open your eyes and compare”.

The event, part of the La Salle-URL Political Cycle initiative, was attended by the former councilor of the Generalitat of Catalunya and former mayor of Barcelona, ​​Xavier Trias; the former councilors of the Generalitat of Catalunya Carles Campuzano, Ester Capella, Victòria Alsina and Pere Macias; the President Delegate of the FUNITEC Board of Trustees, Brother Josep Espuny; the President of the Board of Trustees of the Universitat Ramon Llull, Lluís Recoder; the Rector of the Universitat Ramon Llull, Josep A. Rom; and the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy La Salle-URL, Carles Llinàs, who gave closing remarks to thank the speakers and all attendees for their presence.