The most simplistic reading of the composition of the new government would indicate a lower weight of Catalan socialism. But that would be an uninformed conclusion. Salvador Illa is probably the PSC leader who has had the greatest influence in Moncloa. The personal relationship established with Pedro Sánchez during the pandemic has been maintained and even strengthened since Illa returned to Catalonia and, for the general secretary of the PSOE, having the socialists win the Generalitat in just over a year is a priority objective.
So why does the PSC go from having two ministers to one? The legislature will be marked by the Catalan conflict, whether due to the amnesty or agreements with the independence movement of various kinds, such as financing, infrastructure or other issues that will cause clashes with the opposition and media noise. Therefore, the Catalan premium in the Government is not an advantage for Sánchez, but on the contrary. The president will try to ensure that Catalonia is as little present as possible in the public debate, as he already did in his initial speech at the investiture debate, when he only dedicated a few final minutes to the amnesty.
But the PSC, whose result gave Sánchez a decisive bag of votes in the last general elections, has claimed weight on the government’s economic flank. Illa’s commitment to the Ministry of Industry is with his sights set on the Generalitat, following in the footsteps of José Montilla, who was head of that department before becoming president of the Catalan executive and today is a director of Enagás. The PSC will thus have the ministry through which all the demands and relations of Catalan companies with the central government pass, including the management of European funds. In addition, the Catalan socialists maintain control of several major companies such as AENA, Indra or Renfe.
The minister will be Jordi Hereu. It has been difficult for Illa to convince him to change his position in Hispasat to that of head of Industry, since Hereu did not want to return to the political front line. But the PSC leader is also thinking about consolidating the mayoralty of Barcelona, ??which Jaume Collboni narrowly won thanks to the PP vote to stop Xavier Trías, Junts candidate, from taking over the city. Collboni’s situation is precarious, since he has not yet decided whether he seeks an alliance with the left flank (Comunes and ERC) or the right (Junts). Trias would be in favor of supporting the socialist, despite the fact that he was behind him in the elections, but it will be difficult for Carles Puigdemont to support a government agreement with the socialists after having signed the pact with Sánchez. He would assume too much affinity after having spent six years criticizing ERC for its pacts with the PSOE.
But Hereu allows Collboni to lend a hand in an indirect way, since he was mayor of Barcelona and knows perfectly what the needs of the city may be that he can promote from his new role, such as helping with investments or projects for Barcelona. The objective of the PSC is for Hereu to serve as the 11th councilor for economic promotion of Collboni.
Illa has focused on the economy as the main asset for the regional elections of February 2025. His previous negotiation with ERC for the budgets influenced the demands for infrastructure as a priority, such as the airport, roads or works to face the drought. And it will once again be available to support the following budgets of the Generalitat with similar conditions. The Republicans expect reciprocity for their support for Sánchez, although the PSC also alleges that ERC has not supported Collboni. The pieces for the battle for the Generalitat begin to be placed on the board.
