Catalan politics are now, it seems, a far cry from 2017’s infamous, unauthorised independence referendum. It was violently repressed by national police forces, led to widespread rioting, triggered a constitutional crisis in Spain, and saw leaders like Carles Puigdemont flee the country.
The 2024 regional elections were a stark contrast. For over a decade, Catalonia had been governed by pro-independence parties – either Puigdemont’s right-wing Junts or the left-wing ERC – but it was the PSC (the Catalan wing of Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party) who emerged as the largest force. They were able to form a minority government with the support of ERC and the left-wing Comuns.
