The consultation to change the name and recover Catalan identity in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, the French nomenclature for Northern Catalonia, has ended. This Saturday was the last day of a vote held since June 22, although the results will not be known until August 28. With the participation data available (10% of the electorate with around 35,000 votes, according to departmental sources consulted, pending the publication of definitive data this Monday) and the positioning of the various actors, is a Catalanist shake-up expected? Will Pyrénées Catalanes win, will Pyrénées-Orientales remain, or will there be the cosmetic change of Pyrénées Méditerranée? This is the unknown after the departmental government rejected País Català because it believed the Council of State would veto it.

Since there has been a coalition government in Spain, criticisms from Sumar ministers against the king have occurred to the point where they are now part of normality, as are walkouts at official royal house events. However, this is not the case with socialist ministers. In fact, the socialist part of the state government has always staunchly defended the head of state, even against criticisms from the right and far-right regarding certain speeches or actions, taking into account that everything Felipe VI does must be endorsed by the Spanish government. Nevertheless, this week a sudden crisis has emerged between the Spanish government and the Crown that represents a plot twist, following a harsh criticism from a socialist minister like Óscar Puente, one of the main escorts of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, over a recent photograph of the king with the far-right agitator Javier Negre in Colombia, within the framework of the investiture of the new leader, Abelardo de la Espriella.

Former Minister of Health for the PSC, socialist former deputy, and former councilor in the Sant Gregori City Council, Marina Geli played a prominent role in the governments of Pasqual Maragall and José Montilla with the health portfolio. In 2014, however, she clashed with the socialists and ended up breaking with them because she wanted to defend sovereignty during the full emergence of the "Procés". In 2015, she left politics after having been a non-attached deputy, and since then her life has changed completely. What has she done and what is she doing now? In conversation with ARA, Geli assures that she does not want to return to politics and that she feels very good as coordinator of the Center for Health and Social Studies to promote research transfer, while also being the general director of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Vic – which was launched precisely when Geli stepped down from politics. She continues to live in Sant Gregori, as always – she also lived there when she was a minister – and travels to Vic by car.

Eusebi Campdepadrós, former secretary of the Parliament's bureau, leaves Junts. As ARA has been able to learn, Campdepadrós communicated his decision to the party's executive a few days ago, on July 27, when he announced that he was leaving the formation after the Supreme Court had applied the amnesty to him. He considered, in this way, that his political stage had ended. Contacted by ARA, the now former Junts militant did not wish to make any statements on the matter.

The Catalan socialists deny any relationship with the media Crónica Libre, the supposed informative "instrument" of Leire Díez's plot in the PSOE. The collaborator and shareholder of the newspaper directed by the late Patricia López, operated under the leadership of the then organization secretary Santos Cerdán, according to the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. There is no trace in the summary of a relationship between the PSC and the plot – although the UCO does not rule it out – and only a specific link with a town hall governed by the socialists. The municipal government of Salou, headed by the PSC-Sumem coalition, paid for an advertising campaign to Crónica Libre.

The emergence of Aliança Catalana (AC) in Parliament and the growth predicted by demography have led Junts to move to try to stem the vote leakage that polls foresee towards Sílvia Orriols' party. And it has done so mainly on immigration matters. Although Carles Puigdemont's formation has not yet presented its immigration plan —it has been delayed without any public explanation, but it coincides with the fact that a part of the party considers that the focus should not be placed on Aliança's framework—, it has made moves both in Parliament and in Congress, as well as in municipalities. What steps has it taken?

In Junts, the polls have not been good for some time in general. It is not only the latest CEO barometer, but since Salvador Illa's investiture as president, everything has been going downhill. This situation was discussed at the summit last Monday, reported by ARA, in which the secretary general, Jordi Turull, convened about twenty leaders, including mayors and heads of lists from regional capitals. "The party is doing well in Madrid, but not in Catalonia," was one of the most repeated phrases at the summit, according to various sources consulted. And it is not new: a large part of the party considers that Junts is functioning correctly in Congress, but not in Parliament. What is the criticism?

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given a clear endorsement to the amnesty law this Thursday, which has triggered a wave of reactions uniting the independence movement and the Catalan and Spanish governments in a single demand: the immediate application of the law by the Spanish judiciary. The ruling has been received as a "resounding victory", although with the caution of knowing that the final executive decision rests with the state courts. In the words of former president Carles Puigdemont, "the game will no longer be played in Europe but at the Bernabéu, with the referees and the crowd leaning to one side".

The delivery of the Princess of Girona awards, by the monarchical foundation of the same name, entails the presence in Catalonia of the king, the princess, and the infanta. And when Felipe VI arrived this Tuesday in front of the Liceu – because he is banned in Girona – the ANC's action to try to boycott the head of state's visit took place: a group of about a hundred activists, camouflaged by a mass of umbrellas in the style of the Roman Empire's tortoise formation, threw rubber balls at him, but they did not reach their target by many meters and the monarch did not even notice. A banner with the king upside down could be seen on the building opposite the Liceu.

Vilanova del Vallès chains weeks of betrayals, corruption accusations, uncovered negligence projects and a motion of no confidence held this Tuesday by the hand of some renegade councilors who were in the current municipal government, but who left two weeks ago and have been rewarded with the mayoralty. Josep Casals was sworn in as mayor this Tuesday after breaking with his party and thanks to an agreement with the historic rival in the municipality. Furthermore, as ARA has been able to learn, Casals is being courted by Aliança Catalana to become the party's candidate in the next municipal elections. However, it is not yet "closed" even though work is being done on it, according to party sources. He clarifies that he is not "in contact with anyone" for this purpose, although Aliança Catalana's interest in the municipality is evident, according to sources consulted by ARA.

The national board of Junts has convened this Monday at six in the afternoon a municipal summit with about twenty officials, including lead candidates and mayors of regional capitals in the country, to close the year by addressing the party's main challenges. And among these, the decline in surveys like the CEO's, just four days ago, and the rise of Aliança Catalana at the expense of the unionists reflected in it. With less than a year to go until the municipal elections and only three days before the resolution of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the amnesty, the general secretary, Jordi Turull, has led the direction in the online meeting, in which militants from multiple regions have expressed their opinion on the party's course in a complex context.

The US President, Donald Trump, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, are two allies of Vox who have been a constant pain in the neck for the far-right party. Until now, Santiago Abascal's formation had responded timidly to the US president's outbursts, which had allowed the rebel former leaders or left-wing formations to accuse Vox of being Trump's "slaves". However, this week the party has slightly raised its voice to distance itself from the US president's threat to cut trade with Spain or Trump's harassment of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to whom, with an ironic tone, he said he wanted "a restraining order". The objective is to consolidate a shift that has been debated for some time in the Vox leadership to put an end to the meek image the party had projected until now. The culmination was between March and April, when Israel carried out attacks against Christians. It was then that the national leadership made a decision, according to sources familiar with the matter consulted by ARA: "We have to distance ourselves, like Meloni".

In the fifth most populated city in Catalonia, Junts has faced difficulties in recent years. Long gone are the five councilors in Sabadell that it had from the CiU era, when it led the opposition: currently it only has two and, moreover, they have been expelled from the formation for disobeying and confronting the opinion of the Junts assembly in the city. In fact, de facto, there is currently no Junts representation in Sabadell. This Tuesday, however, the agreement –worked on for months– for a joint candidacy between several parties led by Junts and headed by the former ERC leader in the city, Gabriel Fernàndez, has been signed. And, under the name Acció per Sabadell, it has been formally sponsored by the Junts general secretary, Jordi Turull.

Iván Espinosa de los Monteros y de Simón, son of the Marquis of Valtierra, entered politics with Vox and was expelled last Wednesday, culminating a power struggle with the state leadership of Santiago Abascal that had been going on for three years. Everything took a turn for the worse when the right-wing parties lost the 2023 elections and he could not become a minister – which is what he desired – but the clash already stemmed from the electoral lists, where Abascal vetoed several names he proposed for key positions in the state and municipal elections, according to informed sources consulted. Once he has been eliminated, there are no longer any critics within the far-right party and the attempt at internal rebellion to request an extraordinary congress has completely ended. But the rebellion could end up being external, in the form of electoral competition if Espinosa and his acolytes opt to form another party, as several of the former leaders have publicly stated.

"Any party official must know that they are nobody without their party, and the duties are very clear: more mayors, councilors and deputies." This phrase from the state leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, did not go unnoticed at the Catalan PP congress last week that re-elected Alejandro Fernández as president of the formation in the Principality. It was a message to Fernández to make it clear that after yielding in all his organizational plan for the party, the trust had to be rewarded with results and internal efficiency. The leader of the Catalan populars has in his hands the growth of a Catalan PP that will serve as a springboard for Feijóo to reach Moncloa. However, what is the state leader's plan for Catalonia? How does he intend to seduce the Catalan electorate?

Ten months and a half remain until the municipal elections, and parties are still debating candidacies and programs. At Junts, moreover, they have an important decision to make: what will they have to do with Aliança Catalana (AC). To curb its growth before the elections, but also to know whether they should form alliances afterward, knowing that Sílvia Orriols' party has set its sights on replacing them. What does the leadership say, and what does the local sphere think?

First, the president of Extremadura, María Guardiola, had to go through Vox's address book, despite the difficulties; then it was the turn of Jorge Azcón's Aragon and Alfonso Fernández Mañueco's Castilla y León. But the greatest exponent of the PP moderates, the Andalusian president, the "Sorayist Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who will also yield to Vox's demands, as he himself has admitted and as the state leadership wants. The agreement is being finalized, but the only doubt remaining is the timing, that is, whether he will capitulate for this Thursday's investiture session or postpone it further, playing hard to get for public opinion. In any case, according to sources familiar with the negotiations between the PP and Vox consulted by ARA, the dilemma was clear from the start: "Either you accept the conditions or elections," said the Vox negotiating team.

June began in Parliament with a heated control session in which the opposition tried to surround the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, for the cases of alleged corruption affecting the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez's circle. And the first control session of this July has started the same way, with one more step from the Junts politicians. The president of the Junts group in the Catalan chamber, Mònica Sales, demanded this Wednesday that Illa ask for "forgiveness" for the judicial cases and stop "hiding himself". "When Catalonia has a problem, you disappear; when the PSOE has one, you are always there," she said. "This weekend you had the opportunity to ask for forgiveness on behalf of your party," she retorted, referring to the PSOE federal committee, in which the president said that socialists have "no fear" of anything. Illa, in turn, reiterated that he fears nothing and that he has already given the necessary "explanations".

To oust Pedro Sánchez, the PP needs Junts and the populars' latest moves consolidate a shift on the Procés and Carles Puigdemont's party in particular. However, for the moment, it's all just simple rhetoric. As ARA has learned from various sources familiar with the PP and Junts, there are no contacts between the parties.

The most common practice in democratic countries' political parties is to hold elections in governing bodies with a periodicity of usually four years. In the Catalan PP, however, this has not been the case. A four-year extension has allowed Alejandro Fernández to accumulate two terms in one: he was elected in 2018 in Sitges, but the party did not convene the congress planned for 2022. Four years late and despite multiple challenges and public clashes with Alberto Núñez Feijóo's state leadership, Fernández has managed to survive and this Saturday he has been re-elected with 97.51% of the votes in the formation's sixteenth congress, in an enthronement led by the Galician leader at the Hotel Grand Marina in Barcelona. Furthermore, he has managed to impose his entire plan thanks to Feijóo's full approval, but, according to the Catalan politician, this has been done "from unity." However, the state leader has asked him to look out for the party and has sent a message: "Change cannot be made without Catalonia and much less against Catalonia," he stated.