New ministers named as ERC look to govern alone following Junts rupture

Seven new Catalan ministers have been named on Sunday as Esquerra Republicana look to govern on their own following the departure of Junts per Catalunya from the executive on Friday. 

The new cabinet is entirely made up of figures in favor of a referendum on independence in Catalonia, though not necessarily in favor of independence itself.

Five of the seven newly named ministers come from pro-independence backgrounds, but two do not - the new ministers for justice, rights, and memory, Gemma Ubasart, and Quim Nadal, the new minister for universities and research, come from the Catalan branch of left-wing Podemos and the Socialist party respectively.

Usabart is formerly the head of En Comú Podem in Catalonia, the only party in favor of a referendum but not strictly aligned on the independence question, while Nadal has a storied past connected with the Socialist party, in power in the Spanish government at the moment, and in favor of maintaining the unity of Spain. 

Catalan president Pere Aragonès said that the new cabinet will "represent the consensus of 80% of citizens" and will be one that will "always work for the service of the people and give its all," in a tweet sent on Sunday evening.

Catalunya tindrà un Govern de país. Un Govern per a la Catalunya sencera, que representarà els consensos del 80% de la ciutadania. I que treballarà sempre al servei de la gent i ho donarà tot.

Per una Catalunya pròspera, justa i lliure.

— Pere Aragonès i Garcia 🎗 (@perearagones) October 9, 2022

Natàlia Mas – Economy ministry

Natàlia Mas i Guix will be the first woman to hold the post of minister of economy and finance. Until now she has been director general of the department of industry of business. Previously, she held the post of economy secretary. Between 2004 and 2015 she worked at the European Central Bank.

Meritxell Serret – Foreign ministry

Following the peak of the independence crisis in 2017, Serret went into exile, but in 2021, she made a surprise return in efforts to regularize her situation. She was previously minister of agriculture, between 2016-2017, and since June 2018 has worked as the Catalan government delegate in Brussels, but left that post upon returning to Catalonia to work as an MP. 

Joaquim Nadal – Universities and research

Nada was the mayor of Girona for the Socialist party between 1979-2002. A longstanding member of the Catalan Socialists, who are against independence, he formally left the party in 2015.  He has also previously held the post of territory minister. 

Juli Fernández – Territory

Mayor of Sabadell between 2015-2017, and previously deputy mayor of the city just outside Barcelona. Fernández worked as government delegate in Barcelona between 2018-2021. 

Manel Balcells – Health 

Balcells is an Esquerra Republicana member with a strong medical background. Specialist in orthopedic surgery and traumatology, and in physical education and sports medicine. Balcells specialized at the university of Montpellier in biology and sports medicine. He is considered one of the biggest promoters of sports medicine in Catalonia.

Carles Campuzano – Social rights

Director of the Catalan federation of intellectual disability (Dincat). Previously, Campuzano was an MP in the Spanish Congress for Convergència, the longstanding political force in Catalonia that eventually led to PDeCAT, before Junts per Catalunya. Campuzano, however, never joined Junts. 

Gemma Ubasart – Justice, rights, and memory

A political science professor in the University of Girona, Ubasart was previously president of the Catalan branch of Podemos, the left-wing party that is currently the junior partner in the Spanish government. Podemos are in favor of letting people vote in a referendum on Catalan independence, but have always avoided aligning with either side of the question.