There are few demonstrations of power in Catalonia like governing from both sides of the Plaza Sant Jaume. Jordi Pujol, known for having extended the influence of CiU to the edges of the community, never managed to do so. Pasqual Maragall, the same one who would take this step for the PSC, was prevented from governing simultaneously in the Palau de la Generalitat and the Barcelona City Council by the mayor of Barcelona, something that José Montilla maintained and that for three years, he was also able to match the convergent Artur Mas.
The image of the control of the two most powerful administrations in Catalonia was repeated on August 23, in this new political cycle after the process in which the socialists Salvador Illa and Jaume Collboni greeted each other as president of the government and mayor of Barcelona. respectively. But the domains of the PSC, which reaches levels of power almost unprecedented in its history, go further: it governs the majority of the most populated cities and is in government in three of the four councils.
Although, in total, it has fewer deputies and fewer mayors than in its golden age, before the outbreak of the economic crisis (2007-2010), the difference now is that it does not have to share the Generalitat with other political forces, as happened with the tripartites with CKD and ICV. In addition, Illa aspires to greater influence over Pedro Sánchez’s executive by governing the autonomous community in which the current PSOE places its hopes for the future.
The visible part of the PSC in Moncloa is that of a minister, Jordi Hereu (of Industry and Tourism), but at the same time the names of training in large public companies stand out: Maurici Lucena at Aena, Raül Blanco at Renfe, Toni Llardén at Enagás and Marc Murtra at Indra.
A single government for the first time
At the head of the government, a machine that manages 40 billion euros per year from its – now – 17 ministries, not even this one. almighty Illa’s PSC has had difficulty recruiting management positions in the Catalan administration. It is estimated that there are around 500 among secretaries and general directors, councilors and managers of public companies. Among them, the Ports of the Generalitat, Infrastructure, the Ter-Llobregat water management entity or the housing entity, the Catalan Institute of the Territory (Incasòl).
Illa chose for him under the government some of the deputies he trusts, such as Jordi Terrades, Pol Gibert or Raül Moreno, respectively general secretaries of Territory and Business and Employment. He has also held municipal positions: three are the mayors who joined the Generalitat: Juli Fernández (Palafrugell), Xavier Amor (Pineda de Mar) and Eduard Rivas (Esparraguera), not to mention Nuria Parlon, former mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and now Minister of the Interior.
60% Catalans, in PSC municipalities
As for municipal power, a simple look at the town halls could lead to the conclusion that the PSC is light years away from its best electoral harvests. It currently has 127 mayors, half of the 270 obtained in the 2007 local elections. However, the main cities belong to it again. 16 of the 25 most populated municipalities have a socialist councilor, while in their best times there were 20.
Regarding the population governed, it is even clearer: 60% of Catalans live in municipalities governed by the PSC. The next party in local power, Junts, which boasts of having more mayors than any other (332), governs in municipalities that actually represent 22% of the population.
60% of Catalans live in cities governed by the PSC
Evolution of the percentage of town halls governed by each party in Catalonia, and of the population according to the colour of the government of the city where it resides
Source: Municat
Beyond the media field, in the deputations, essential parts of local financing, the areas of the CPS also extend. It holds the presidency of Barcelona, and is at the same time a member of the executives led by ERC in Tarragona and Lleida.
Control of large budgets
Among the different formulas for calibrating political power, perhaps none is comparable to the budgetary formula for understanding the scope of the achievements of the CPS. To the 40 billion euros managed by the Generalitat, are added in this order the 3,800 of the Barcelona City Council; the 1,200 of the Provincial Council of Barcelona; the 1,200 of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), the supra-municipal entity also chaired by Jaume Collboni. The accounts in the first volume that are not managed by a socialist are those of the Terrassa City Council, by independent Jordi Ballartwhich amount to around 300 million.
One chapter where the CPS does not recover the strength of its best moments, although it is not far from it, is that of the Parliament. In Parliament, Illa won with 42 deputies, a figure lower than Pasqual Maragall’s record of 1999, with 52. But the current record remains the second best score of the PSC in the Catalan Chamber, equal with the 42 seats won by Maragall. 2003.
And something similar is observed in Congress, but with a more moderate rebound. The 19 seats won in the summer of 2023 by the candidate Meritxell Batet, now retired from the political front, mean leaving behind the slump that led him to obtain only 7 deputies in 2016, curiously Batet is also number 1. However, the most successful general elections of the CPS remain those of Carmen Chacón in 2008: 25 seats.
