What is happening to Illa's government?

BarcelonaSalvador Illa arrived at the Palau de la Generalitat with the motto of "unite and serve". Leaving behind once and for all the years of the Procés, which he considers to have "divided" the country, and dedicating himself above all to the management of the Catalan administration. These were meant to be his main strengths. Halfway through his term, there is nothing to suggest that the pro-sovereignty yearnings are reviving, but he has had one crisis after another and has already suffered –for the moment– the departure of one minister and three secretaries general 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, does not bode well for a calm second half of his term either, which will be marked by the municipal elections and the shadow of electoral polls that show a PSC stalled or, even, with a slight loss of support.

From the Palau de la Generalitat, they deny that the movements in the sub-government have anything to do with the crises that call into question the "good government" that Illa advocates. However, the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, replaced this Monday the person who until then had been her right-hand woman, Teresa Sambola, with Marta Cari, after the PISA fiasco, which invalidated Catalonia's results in the OECD tests. It also coincides with the fact that the department is in a deep-seated conflict with the teaching staff and, without going any further, the sector's majority union (USTEC) has already called a strike for the first day of the school year.

At the Interior Department, Minister Núria Parlon has also had her number two, Tomàs Carrión, leave, and has replaced him with Joana Ricardo. The department claims that Carrión had expressed "his desire to leave the department of his own volition," but he has also been followed by several 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 she was replaced by Raúl Moreno. In this case, everything points to the "personal reason" that caused her to leave the executive being that she was family-rooted in Madrid while working in Catalonia.

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 government 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 reached the point of being suspended for two days in January. The Minister of Health, Olga Pané, is another one of those who appear in all the pools 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 recently incorporated 60 people and has an open process to add 25 more tax technicians.

Regarding the Comuns' proposed law 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 progress, 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 addressing projects such as the plan to reach 50,000 subsidized housing units or the promotion of the new Hospital Clínic.