In Barcelona, the People’s Party (PP) secretary general, Miguel Tellado, attacked Junts, ERC and the PNV, saying they are “as rotten as the government” of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Tellado made the remarks at a party meeting that formally convened the Catalan PP congress. He linked his criticism to a week dominated by allegations involving former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and corruption cases, which he described as the most serious in Spain’s recent history.

He also said the whole Council of Ministers, led by Sánchez, is under suspicion because of the Plus Ultra case, and claimed that Sánchez’s inner circle has also faced problems. Tellado asked what Sánchez’s partners were doing, saying, “They were the ones who put these people in government.”

According to Tellado, Junts, the PNV and ERC helped Sánchez reach La Moncloa and are therefore as responsible as him for his alleged links to Zapatero. He criticised their silence and said they would “fall” alongside the Socialists. For more Catalan political coverage, see our news page.

The speech also served to announce the Catalan PP congress, which will be held on 27 June. Tellado said the congress is important for the PP’s national project and for bringing Alberto Núñez Feijóo to La Moncloa. He urged the Catalan PP to “make a qualitative leap” and encouraged current president Alejandro Fernández to stand again.

Tellado said Fernández should aim for the PP to “grow above 15 seats in the regional elections and achieve more than six in the general elections”. He added that major PP victories in Spain have often gone hand in hand with strong results in Catalonia, and called for the party to win at least three more seats in the region. In 2023, a single deputy allowed the PSOE to govern, and in Catalonia the PP was 18 seats behind the PSC.

Fernández also addressed the party’s executive committee, saying the PP needs to grow as an alternative to nationalism and left-wing parties in the Catalan parliament. He set out the party’s priorities as housing, security, orderly immigration, education based on a culture of effort, and lower taxes in Catalonia. He also criticised what he called the “dismantling of the State” in Catalonia, saying it is not decentralisation but separatism’s push for state structures such as treasury, justice and police in preparation for a new independence attempt.

The executive committee agreed that Juan Milián, Fernando Sánchez Costa and Lorena Roldán will lead the political statement. Llanos de Luna and Santi Rodríguez will serve as president and vice-president of the congress, while Maritxu Hervás, Mónica Parés, Joan Simeón and Alberto Mas will handle the statutes statement.