The decision to reshape the Government of the Generalitat should have been made earlier. Right after the municipal elections. This is what they recognize in the Catalan Executive. Esquerra had lost 300,000 votes and a reaction was needed. Matching the call for elections for July 23 by Pedro Sánchez was highly complicated and Pere Aragonès came out with a proposal, that of the sovereignist common front, whose lack of concreteness showed that it was rushed. In addition, the lack of understanding between pro-independence formations to form local governments is diluting this initiative.
Two weeks later, the drumbeat of changes in the Government has materialized. It would have crystallized earlier if Aragonès had tied the names of the substitutes. The president of the Generalitat assures, however, that they are not in response to the poor results of May 28. In any case, there has been relief: in the Ministry of Education, Anna Simó replaces Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray; the Department of Territory, will be led by Ester Capella instead of Juli Fernàndez, and in Climate Action, David Mascort will perform the functions that Teresa Jordà has carried out until now. They took possession of their positions immediately, at 4 p.m.
There have been a few crises in the Government. This is the second caused by changes in the Catalan Executive. Junts left in October and seven new directors were appointed. This time there were three. Laura Vilagrà, Roger Torrent, Joan Ignasi Elena, Natàlia Garriga and Tània Verge are the only ones who have remained since the beginning of the legislature, in May 2021.
Aragonès appeared yesterday at 10.30 am at the Palau de la Generalitat. He did so by denying that the decline of ERC in the municipal elections or the pretense of facing the general elections with more guarantees was the reason for the remodeling.
Quite the opposite. The president justified that after two years it was appropriate to “face the second part of the legislature with more strength and renewed energy”. In fact, he assured that the changes have been formulated to complete the legislature and end it in February 2025 and that without the municipal elections in the middle he would have done them anyway.
The head of the Catalan Executive had words of thanks for the outgoing councillors. Of the new ones, he highlighted their experience in the areas they assume. De Cambray acknowledged that he has lived a few years of “high complexity” at the head of Education, but he also valued the increase in teaching staff and the free education in P2.
Regarding Fernández, the president rejected that his dismissal had anything to do with the layout of the North Roundabout agreed with the PSC and that it should improve the connection between Terrassa and Sabadell. In any case, and despite the fact that Aragonès denied the evidence, the effectiveness of these changes involving a landslide will be dictated by the polls on July 23.
But the fact is that ERC has not managed to make day-to-day management profitable. With Simó i Capella the president wants expertise and experience. they have No proofs. Simó was Minister of Welfare and Family from 2003 to 2006, with the government of Pasqual Maragall. In addition, he chaired the School Council of Catalonia from 2018 to 2021. Credentials that Aragonès considers suitable to be in charge of Education.
Simó is, moreover, the second profile that the ERC Government recovers from the imprint of 1-O. Meritxell Serret, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the first.
Capella’s is the name that always rings. It’s all over the place. She has been a member of Congress, Minister of Justice, was number three on Ernest Maragall’s list for Barcelona on May 28 and until now has been the representative of the Generalitat in Madrid. Aragonès specified yesterday that his position will remain vacant until the next general elections have passed.
Maskort’s profile is more continuous. Until now he has been general secretary at Acció Climàtica. At ERC they consider that their change responds more to a need to continue with the work started by Jordà. The until now councilor will work in tandem with Gabriel Rufián in Madrid. His departure is not entirely to his liking, but the Republicans have thought of it to strengthen the pro-independence profile of the party.
The current owner of Climate Action has had to deal with a drought that has gripped Catalonia for more than thirty months. Jordan and the Government were widely criticized by the opposition in Parliament, as they said, for not agreeing on a decree for urgent measures against the water shortage.
In the case of Cambray, he has been condemned by the constant quarrels he has had with the unions, teachers and students. In fact, Aragonès had been considering replacing him as head of Education for some time. His mandate has been turbulent since 2021, with successive strikes in the sector and his decision to advance the school year to September. Up to three times the Parliament tried to reprove it, but it saved face.
As for Fernández, he came to office with the reshuffle of the Government that meant the exit of Junts and his short term has been marked by his opposition to the fourth belt or the B-40, a project that the PSC put as a sine qua non condition for approving the budgets of the Generalitat for 2023. A point on which Aragonès finally had to give in.
The president of the Generalitat assured that with the changes he hopes to last until February 2025. However, the Government has an uncertain future. If the elections of July 23 are again read as an amendment to the management of ERC, the president could opt for new changes or even propose an electoral advance for which, in spite of himself, the Republicans right now seem not be ready Part of the militancy attributes the disaster in the municipal elections to the pacts with the PSOE in Madrid and the contract with the PSC to approve the budgets of the Generalitat for 2023.
