The decision to remodel the Government should have been carried out earlier. Right after the municipal elections. This is how they recognize it in the Catalan Executive. Esquerra had left 300,000 votes along the way and a reaction was needed. Matching the call for elections for July 23 by Pedro Sánchez was highly complicated and Pere Aragonès came up with a proposal, that of the sovereignist common front, which the lack of specificity showed was hasty. In addition, the scant understanding between pro-independence formations for the municipalities is diluting this initiative.
Two weeks later, the tom-tom of the changes in the Government has materialized. It would have crystallized earlier if Aragonés 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. Be that as it may, there have been replacements: in the Department of Education, Anna Simó replaces Josep Gonzàlez-Cambray; the Department of Territory will be directed by Ester Capella instead of Juli Fernàndez, and in Acció Climática, David Mascort will perform the functions that Teresa Jordà has carried out up to now. They took possession of their posts immediately, at 4:00 p.m.
There have been a few crises in the Government. This is the second caused by changes in the Catalan Executive. In October Junts went and seven new councilors 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 ERC debacle in the municipal elections or that the claim to compete with more guarantees in the general elections was the reason for the remodeling.
On the contrary. The president justified that after two years it was convenient “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 involved, he would have done the same.
The head of the Catalan Executive had words of gratitude for the outgoing ministers. Of the new ones, he highlighted his experience in the areas they assume. De Cambray acknowledged that he has lived through some “highly complex” years at the helm of Educació, but he also valued the increase in the teaching staff or the free education in P2.
Regarding Fernàndez, the president denied that his dismissal had anything to do with the layout of the Ronda Nord agreed with the PSC and that he would have to improve the connection between Terrassa and Sabadell. In any case, and despite Aragonés denying the majority, the effectiveness of these changes implying a shock will be dictated by the polls on July 23.
But the truth is that ERC has not managed to make day-to-day management profitable. With Simó y Capella, the president wants expertise and experience. they have it No proofs. Simó was Minister of Welfare and Family from 2003 to 2006, with the Government of Pasqual Maragall. He also chaired the School Council of Catalonia from 2018 to 2021. Credentials that Aragonès considers adequate to be in charge of Education. Simó, in addition, is the second profile that the ERC Government recovers from the footprint of 1-O. Meritxell Serret, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the first.
Capella’s is the name that always sounds. It is in all the pools. She has been a deputy in Congress, Minister of Justice, she was number three on the list of Ernest Maragall for Barcelona on May 28 and until now she has been the delegate of the Generalitat in Madrid. Aragonès specified yesterday that her place will remain vacant until the general elections are over.
Mascort’s profile is more continuous. Until now he has been secretary general at Acció Climàtica. In ERC they consider that his change responds more to a need to continue with the work started by Jordà. Until now the minister will do a tandem with Gabriel Rufián in Madrid. Her march is not entirely to her liking, but the Republicans have thought of her to reinforce the party’s pro-independence profile.
The until now head of Acció Climàtica has had to deal with a drought that has gripped Catalonia for more than thirty months. Jordà and the Government were widely criticized by the opposition in Parliament, according to what they said, for not agreeing on a decree on urgent measures against water scarcity.
In the case of Cambray, the constant disputes that he has had with the unions, teachers and students have sentenced him. In fact, Aragonès had been considering relieving him at the helm of Educació for a long time. His tenure has been turbulent since 2021, with successive strikes in the sector and his decision to advance the school year in September. Up to three times the Parliament tried to fail him, but he saved face.
With respect to Fernández, he came to office with the remodeling of the Government that involved the march of Junts and his short term has been marked by his opposition to the fourth belt or B-40, a project that the PSC put as a sine qua non to approve the budgets of the Generalitat for 2023. A point in which Aragonès finally had to give in.
The president of the Generalitat assured that with the changes he hopes to hold out until February 2025. However, the Government has an uncertain future. If the elections on July 23 are read again as an amendment to the ERC management, the president could opt for new changes or even propose an electoral advance for which, to his regret, the Republicans right now seem not to be prepared. 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.
