Parlon and Trapero did not get along, and that was an open secret

The news broke early this morning: Josep Lluís Trapero has resigned as Director General of the Police. Trapero's decision came on a key day for the Mossos d'Esquadra, as a meeting of the police leadership had been called for this Wednesday morning at the Department of the Interior to announce who would be the new Chief Commissioner of the force, but Trapero's resignation has caused surprise among the high command of the Mossos and the Interior Department.Quick reminder: at the Interior Department there is a minister, who has a civilian political number two, who was now Trapero, and a uniformed, police number two, who until today was Miquel Esquius, who is retiring. I say this so that you are not confused, because Trapero had been the police chief (it was when he was promoted to major and was dismissed by the 155 in 2017) but now he was a political appointee by decision of Salvador Illa, who in the 2024 election campaign, like someone pulling an ace out of their sleeve, announced that Trapero would be his Director General of the Police.

Salvador Illa: "Look, the best way I have to say what security policy I will implement is by saying who I will put in charge of this responsibility. And I want to make an announcement: if I preside over the Generalitat, the Minister of Interior will be Núria Parlon, mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, who has been excellent in security policies. And I want to say more: since I want to professionalize management in Catalonia, the Director General of the Police, if I am president, will be Major Josep Lluís Trapero, who is an example of a public servant. It is the best definition, the best explanation I can give of what security policy I will implement to reverse this situation which, you are right, is the worst in the historical series in Catalonia: Núria Parlon as Minister of Interior, Josep Lluís Trapero as Director General of the Police".

It was like a luxury signing, of a figure who was extraordinarily popular during the 2017 attacks and during the 'Procés', and who, upon being tried by the National Court as being complicit with Puigdemont, fell from grace. Upon being acquitted and behaving well, Illa saw the opportunity to enrich his campaign with a name like Trapero's.

But now, just as it has been two years since Illa reached the presidency, Trapero resigns. Why? Because Trapero did not get along with the minister Núria Parlon. And this was an open secret. The tireless mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet was one of Illa's other electoral aces. But the two roosters in the henhouse have ended up clashing. Among other things because, even though Trapero was not leading the force, he was a power in the shadows and his influence within the Mossos remained very high. Trapero's stripes weigh heavily. In Parlon's circle, they consider that Trapero was a policeman who was too old school, and today Trapero has had enough.

Curiously, the person who will replace him as Director General of the Police, that is, as a political appointee, is Ferran López, also a commissioner of the Mossos, the same person who already replaced him at the head of the force when Trapero was dismissed due to the 155. López was currently the Mossos' representative in Madrid; he is a much less personalistic type than Trapero, more discreet and organized.

For a few months, between 2021 and 2022, he was the security director of FC Barcelona, but he did not get along with Joan Laporta's right-hand man, Alejandro Echevarría, and he quit.

Trapero's resignation has overshadowed the other important news of the day, which is that for the first time in history, the Mossos will have a female commissioner. A woman will lead the Mossos: Sílvia Catà, until now head of the Mossos in Girona. It was Parlon's intention to place a woman as head of the force. Born in Arenys de Munt, Catà is 53 years old, holds a degree in business administration and management from the Autonomous University, and has been part of the Mossos d'Esquadra force since 1998. It is quite possible that the straw that broke the camel's back in the relationship between Parlon and Trapero was, precisely, who was to be the new chief commissioner of the Mossos.Good morning.