Salvador Illa will return to the Palau de la Generalitat on Monday.

BarcelonaThe Catalan president's medical progress is positive, and Salvador Illa will return to the Palau de la Generalitat on Monday to resume his duties. Doctors have determined that he will need to continue intravenous antibiotic treatment and that his return to normal activity will be gradual, according to government sources. In fact, the president will continue to combine his work with rehabilitation and treatment. The president himself announced his return on Monday via a message to X. "On Monday, I will gradually return to work and my responsibilities as president of the Generalitat. I am returning with great enthusiasm, energy, and determination," he stated.

Isla will make an official statement on Monday morning, and his schedule will begin with an event on housing that had been postponed during his absence. "My gratitude to the staff of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital for their professionalism, dedication, and human qualities. Our public healthcare system is a collective source of pride," Illa wrote in his message to X, where he also thanked everyone for their support.

The medical team at Vall d'Hebron that has been treating him for pubic osteomyelitis caused by a bacteria, which has forced him to take a personal and professional break, determined that The treatment would last for eight weeksFour days have passed before the president received the go-ahead to return to work, but his medication will continue for at least another week. Just a few days ago, the managing director of Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Albert Salazar, explained that Isla was getting around with only one crutch and that his recovery was "rapid," leading them to anticipate his return to work "sooner" than the medical team had expected. During these last few weeks, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, has been serving as acting president, and the president's more sector-specific tasks have been reorganized among the different ministries depending on the specific issue. The decree delegating functions to Dalmau, which has been in effect for the past few weeks, will be lifted this Monday. Salvador Illa has been in constant contact with Dalmau by phone, and also visited him at the hospital while he was hospitalized. In fact, during the first days of the commuter rail crisis, Isla received visits from Dalmau and also from the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, to address this issue.

Junts calls for a vote of confidence in Isla

On the very day Isla announced his return, Junts has already set him some homework. The president of the Junts parliamentary group in the Catalan Parliament, Mònica Sales, has asked him to dismiss the Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, in light of the chaos in the commuter rail system, or else face a vote of confidence. In statements to ACN, Sales believes that if the president does not fulfill "the mandate of the Parliament" and does not force Paneque to resign—the Catalan chamber reiterated its demand for her resignation this Thursday—"he may have to face a vote of confidence" to determine whether he still has the support of his investiture partners, ERC and Comuns, because they also censured his appointment. But one of those questioned, Comuns, has already distanced itself. Speaking after meeting with the government to continue budget negotiations, spokesperson David Cid dismissed the proposal as "a mere whim" and urged Junts members to think more about the country "and less about the party." "Junts's politicking is a bit misleading," he quipped. However, Cid also remained noncommittal about how his party would vote if President Isla, the only one who can decide to submit to a vote of confidence, were to accept Junts's challenge. For him, this is currently "science fiction."