The last major pact between the PSC and Ciutadans (and a smaller one)

BarcelonaThe last municipal elections in Catalonia left a bleak outlook for Ciutadans: only ten councilors in nine municipalities. Santa Coloma de Gramenet was the only city where they won two. These were their best results in 2023, but they were bittersweet: the ERC candidacy, led by Gabriel Rufián, overtook them, and the Oranges ceased to be the main opposition party. The surprise came after the elections: the then mayor and now Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, offered them entry into the government despite having an absolute majority—17 councilors out of 25. Almost two years later, and now with the new mayor, Mireia González, The pact is moving smoothly, and both parties are boasting. Under the Socialist leadership, the Ciudadanos (Cs) leader in the city, Dimas Gragera, is Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, while Ciudadanos councilor Salvador Tovar has responsibilities in security matters.

Both the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and Ciudadanos (Citizens) welcome the agreement and claim that it is due, above all, to the "shared vision" of the city. "Let's take a good look. There was a prior relationship of trust that made it possible," explains Mayor González in the ARA newspaper. Gragera conveys an identical impression: "Internally, it works very well. We are integrated into the governing team." Unlike other regions in Catalonia, where Ciudadanos never gained a foothold, in Santa Coloma they did form a stable group and had penetration into the local fabric, something the Socialists took into account when extending their hand.

Within the municipal government, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and Ciutadans (Citizens) have maintained differences on issues such as language and the national agenda. However, both parties normalize these differences and assert that at no point have they shaken the coalition. "Both Parlon and González have accepted us as we are," says Gragera, who emphasizes that Cs has completely distanced itself from the amnesty even at the municipal level. González points out that the Socialists have a majority and are therefore legitimately entitled to govern by implementing their project, even if they seek consensus. "And the PSC is very clear about its model," he says regarding the language issue. Santa Coloma was, in fact, the birthplace of immersion.

Why make a pact with an absolute majority?

The initiative to offer Ciudadanos a place in the government came from former mayor Parlon, with whom Ciudadanos already had a very close relationship. They asked her to incorporate measures such as installing security cameras on the streets or tax incentives for residents, which the Socialists accepted. The pact was well received by the rank and file of both parties. "Our membership doesn't have an ideological problem with the PSC," Gragera emphasizes. It should be noted that, in Santa Coloma, Comuns has no presence, nor does Junts. These are the other two parties with which the Socialists govern in large cities. where they also have an absolute majority: Cornellà and Sant Boi, and Sabadell, respectively. "Our political tradition is one of pact and consensus," González emphasizes. Especially at the local level. Despite the significant differences that the PSC and Ciutadans have displayed in Parliament over the last decade, the understanding is not unprecedented: they had previously reached agreements in El Vendrell, Sant Andreu de la Barca, and Sant Vicenç dels Horts or in Cervelló—where they clashed over the municipality's adhesion to the National Pact for the Referendum in 2017.

The Santa Coloma de Gramanet pact is the last major pact between the PSC and Ciutadans. But there's an even smaller one in Vilafant, where the municipal dynamic has squared the circle: a three-way government between the PSC, the Ciutadans councilor, and Junts. Initially, an agreement was emerging between Esquerra, Som Vilafant, and Junts, but the Republicans accused the council members of having dynamited it by demanding that their councilors be granted exclusive dedication. ERC rejected it, considering that municipal finances could not afford it.

Future integration?

The future of the Ciudadanos councilors in Santa Coloma remains uncertain ahead of the 2027 elections. Could they join the Socialist Party?its new leader in Catalonia, Héctor Amelló, will have to decide their course. González also remains mum about whether they might be offered a spot on the candidacy she will lead for the first time since Parlon's departure. However, she doesn't hide her satisfaction with the pact and defends its continuation. If Gragera and Tovar were to take the step, they wouldn't be the first members of Ciutadans to migrate to the PSC (although most of the diaspora of the top Cs leaders joined the ranks of the Spanish rightFormer Cs members now proudly wearing the Socialist shirt include the mayor of Tarragona, Rubén Viñuales, and the deputy mayor for security in Sabadell, Adrián Hernández. The PSC leader in Badalona, ​​Fernando Carrera, also ran on the Cs list, and Manel Valls stood for Barcelona as an independent.