Politics of Catalonia - During The 21st Century

During The 21st Century

At the 2003 regional elections (for which Pujol did not run) CiU could not renew its absolute majority and PSC's Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat by means of a left-wing tripartite coalition. Maragall's socialists kept being the main opposition party, but actually lost seats: the bigger winners were the independentist Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), and the ecosocialists. Since CiU did not win an absolute majority, the combined forces of all three left parties allowed the change in government. While PSC maintained the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominated the conseller primer (prime minister) — Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira and, later on, Josep Bargalló i Valls.

This first tripartite rule became an uneasy coalition due to tensions between the PSC and ERC and internal tensions between PSC and PSOE as well. The evidence of such an uneasy relationship was the controversial forging of the amendment to the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

The 2006 regional election saw Convergència i Unió (CiU) increasing its numbers, while both the PSC and ERC lost seats, but still was not enough of an increase for CiU to block the formation of a second left-wing tripartite coalition (PSC+ERC+ICV), again led by PSC's, this time being José Montilla Aguilera the President of the Generalitat. Also this election saw a newly created party Ciutadans - Partido de la Ciudadanía entering the regional Parliament.

The new century has also seen a revival of the Esquerra Independentista (pro-independence left), which has again regained some of its strength after the end of Terra Lliure in 1995. Its Popular Unity Candidancies Candidatures d'Unitat Popular have done well in the municipal elections of 2007, gaining over 20 town council members.