A new Government for a new stage

2 min
Pere Aragones entering Palau de la Generalitat

Both the scenography and the symbolism of the inauguration of Pere Aragonès as the 132nd president and, above all, the composition of his executive confirm that ERC and Junts want to inaugurate a new stage. It is very significant that in the new Government only two names are repeated, in addition to Aragonès himself: Jordi Puigneró, who will be vice-president and will lead Digital Policies and Territory, and Teresa Jordà, who remains in charge of Agriculture, which has now been fused with Climate Action. All other ministers are new, with a notable presence of independents (5 out of 14) and a majority of women (8 out of 15, counting the president). The presence of independents is linked to the incorporation of technical profiles, aiming to emphasise the importance of management in the current situation.

Among these signings, the most notable are the former director of the Fundació "La Caixa" Jaume Giró, who will be in charge of the Department of Economy, and the current secretary of Health, Josep Maria Argimon, who will relieve Alba Vergés, in a step that marks the access of specialists to the maximum responsibilities in government. Also noteworthy is the election of Professor Tània Verge, one of the country's leading specialists in feminism, to lead the newly created Department for Feminisms and Equality. Otherwise, the executive has become much younger, although it also includes people of great experience, such as the former mayor of Vilanova i la Geltrú, Joan Ignasi Elena, to lead the always difficult Department of Home Affairs. In any case, the message is clear: to carry out the "shake-up" that the country needs, in the words of Aragonès himself, it was necessary to renew the Government in depth. And so it has been done.

The act of taking office also reflected this desire to start anew. Contributing to this is the youth of the new president, who attended with his wife, holding the hand of his daughter Clàudia, who is only two years old. The president will have to be able, from now on, to imprint on the executive the necessary coherence and cruising speed. In his speech, Aragonès pointed out on several occasions that his goal is that all citizens, regardless of their origin and social status, can achieve happiness. It is an idea that goes back to the English utilitarians (Jeremy Bentham) and that Thomas Jefferson took up in the Declaration of Independence of the United States. In practice it means that if a measure benefits the majority it will always be better than if it only benefits a few. This is the origin of the republican values that Aragonès wants to imprint on his mandate and which he also underlined by insisting on presenting himself as Catalonia's first public servant.

In the coming days the new executive will set out with a long list of duties and challenges ahead of it. And our mission will be to evaluate the government's actions and compare them with what is set out in the government's agreements. Because this function of the media is also part of the republican, and especially Jeffersonian, baggage.

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