The cabinet bids farewell to Montero, and Sánchez prepares a surgical cabinet reshuffle.

Barcelona / MadridOne of the first consequences of the calling of elections in Andalusia The biggest news has been the departure of María Jesús Montero from the Spanish government. The Vice President and Minister of Finance will have to pack her bags to become the PSOE candidate in the elections, which were announced early this Monday by President Juanma Moreno Bonilla. In her first press conference since the announcement, Montero confirmed this Tuesday that she is beginning "this electoral race" as a candidate and that her departure as minister "will be imminent in the coming days," as she stated on Monday.

Standing tall as "the most powerful woman in the entire democracy," she stressed that "there is one less day" until Andalusia has "quality public services," railing against the "privatization" of the Andalusian head of government and the scandal over errors in breast cancer screening of 2,000 womenNow officially on the campaign trail, she has framed the elections as "a referendum on public healthcare" in which citizens' lives are at stake. The former Andalusian Minister of Health, who served for nine years before moving into national politics, offered her own analysis of the election date, arguing that Moreno "called the elections early because he is aware of the PSOE's resurgence in Andalusia" and the "wear and tear" on his administration, in what she sees as a "defensive maneuver."

In any case, Montero's departure will entail a reshuffle of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet, which will lose the figure who spearheaded negotiations on the budget, the new financing model, and also the transfer of income tax revenue that the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) is demanding in exchange for approving the budget in Catalonia. "We will miss her greatly," the ministers who appeared before the press after the cabinet meeting affirmed on Tuesday. The Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, whom some sources suggest as her successor, expressed his gratitude for Montero's "enormous work" and noted that the cabinet will feel her absence "both personally and professionally." However, he declined to comment on whether he aspires to succeed her: "That's up to the Prime Minister, but I take the question in a positive light, which is that if I'm being considered, it means they believe good work is being done in the area of ​​economic policy."

Spokesperson Elma Saiz also joined in the praise for Montero. She admitted that it had been a "very emotional" cabinet meeting. Despite declining poll numbers for the PSOE, the Spanish government believes that having been part of it could benefit Montero, because they claim she distributed funds to all the autonomous communities to improve public services. In contrast, according to the PP spokesperson in Congress, Esther Muñoz, she has been the "worst finance minister" in Spanish democracy for failing to present the accounts as required by her "constitutional duty."

A surgical change in the Spanish government

Moncloa has not specified the timeline for Montero's departure from the government, but it appears it will not be before Friday. The Spanish government wants to give full prominence to two events: Wednesday's appearance before Congress by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to explain his position on the No to warAnd on Thursday the executive will push through anti-crisis measures to address the effects of the Middle East conflict, since Junts will vote in favor.

Sources at Moncloa Palace rule out a broad reshuffle of the Spanish government and are opting for a more targeted approach, while making it clear that the decision rests with Sánchez. He already made a change of personnel with Pilar Alegría, who was spokesperson and Minister of Education, when she left to run for president of Aragon. But this time, Sánchez will not only have to decide who will fill the Finance Ministry, but also who will assume the First Vice Presidency of the government—a decidedly political role.

Montero was the lead negotiator for the Catalan issue with Esquerra Republicana (ERC), primarily concerning the financing model and the delegation of personal income tax (IRPF) powers. Until a few months ago, ERC blamed Montero for stalling this transfer, but in recent weeks they have acknowledged that the Finance Minister's position was also shared by the entire Socialist wing of the Spanish government. "We will see from now on whether Montero's inaction regarding granting more sovereignty to Catalonia was truly a valid reason, or simply a convenient excuse to shift the blame," stated Ester Capella, the ERC spokesperson in the Catalan Parliament.

The Catalan government has distanced Montero's imminent departure from the course of negotiations with ERC. "We have never linked the electoral calendar of each autonomous community with the budgets," argued spokesperson and councilor Sílvia Paneque, who didn't even want to comment on whether Montero should close the financing chapter by convening her last Fiscal and Financial Policy Council meeting before leaving for Andalusia. With the aim of having a budget in place before Sant Joan (St. John's Day), the government is offering the Republicans "parallel" talks on the budget and agreements to "gain ground on sovereignty," as ERC is now demanding.

PP's "electoral tactic"

This Tuesday, in several interviews, the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, called for mobilization to combat abstention and highlighted his main campaign message: a call for strategic voting among Vox voters. His objective is to retain his absolute majority in the regional government and avoid relying on the far right. "I believe many Vox voters will trust in stability," he said. "What's at stake is having a sensible majority or getting ourselves into a mess," he added, attempting to downplay the idea of ​​a scenario of dependence on the far right.

This is a scenario that progressive forces will surely use as a scare tactic to mobilize left-wing voters ahead of the elections. Montero, for example, has already called for a "major mobilization" in support of public education and healthcare, and the right to housing.

To the left of the Socialists, Antonio Maíllo, the federal coordinator of United Left and the party's Andalusian candidate, has added opposition to the US-Israeli war in Iran to his defense of public services. He has also used this opportunity to urge people to vote for "Por Andalucía," the candidacy he leads, which United Left shares with Sumar. The question at this point is whether Podemos will also join them or, like Adelante Andalucía, will run separately again.