What is happening to Illa's government?

BarcelonaSalvador Illa arrived at the Palau de la Generalitat with the motto of "uniting and serving". To leave behind once and for all the years of the 'Procés', which he considers "divided" the country, and to dedicate himself above all to the management of the Catalan administration. These were supposed to be his main strengths. Halfway through the term, nothing suggests that the pro-sovereignty aspirations are reviving, but he has faced one crisis after another and has already suffered –for the moment– the farewell of a minister and three general secretaries in recent weeks (two just this week). And this start of the school year, which began with an important photo for Illa with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, also does not augur a calm second half of the term, which will be marked by the municipal elections and the shadow of electoral polls showing a PSC stalled or even with a slight loss of support.

From the Palau de la Generalitat they deny that the movements in the sottogoverno have anything to do with the crises that call into question the "good governance" that Illa advocates. However, the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, replaced this Monday the person who had until then been her right-hand woman, Teresa Sambola, with Marta Clari, after the PISA fiasco, which has invalidated Catalonia's results in the OECD tests. It also coincides that the department is in a deep-seated conflict with the teaching staff and, to make matters worse, the majority union in the sector (USTEC) has already called a strike for the first day of the school year.

At the Interior Department, the minister Núria Parlon also saw her number two, Tomàs Carrión, leave, and replaced him with Joana Ricardo. The department assures that Carrión had expressed "his desire to leave the department of his own volition", but he has also been followed by various controversies. The fact that Josep Lluís Trapero was appointed Director General of the Police –a police career profile for a political position– was already controversial, as was the pilot plan to introduce plainclothes Mossos d'Esquadra in schools, the infiltration of police in a teachers' assembly, or the use of pepper spray against demonstrators in pro-Palestinian protests.

Before the summer, the Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, also left the Government, and Raúl Moreno replaced her. In this case, everything points to the "personal motive" that made her leave the executive being that she was family-rooted in Madrid while working in Catalonia.

The pending challenges

The restructuring of Illa's government does not seem to have reached its end. There will be more changes: the most foreseeable is that of the executive spokesperson and Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, who is expected to return to the race for the mayoralty of Girona. She has not yet taken the step and holds a position with significant visibility, but she has also had to face the permanent crisis of Rodalies, especially the fatal accident in Gelida and the chaos in the service, which ended up being suspended for two days in January. The Minister of Health, Olga Pané, is another of those appearing in all the speculation to leave the executive. She has already asked on several occasions to be relieved for personal reasons and has been the target of harsh criticism due to the labor conflict with doctors and nurses.

Beyond the crises, the Government also has challenges in sight such as the new financing model and housing regulation, two key issues to keep Esquerra and the Comuns happy, respectively. This Friday, in fact, the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council approved the new financing model (which will have to be approved in Congress), but, on the other hand, the collection and management of personal income tax (IRPF) is being postponed, as agreed with the republicans. In any case, the executive highlights the work done at the Tax Agency of Catalonia, which has incorporated 60 people lately and has an open process to add 25 more tax technicians.

Regarding the Comuns' bill to limit speculative buying, it is stalled after the negative opinion of the Council of Statutory Guarantees (CGE) because it violates several articles of the Constitution and the Statute, and the right to private property. Two aspects that, if they do not advance, complicate the support of the two partners for the approval of the 2027 budget. The approval of the 2026 accounts, despite the difficulties, is the great milestone of the Illa Government, which will allow for facing projects such as the plan to reach 50,000 social housing units or the promotion of the new Hospital Clínic.