The PSC is pledging to do "everything in its power" to prevent far-right parties Vox and Aliança Catalana from leading or shaping municipal governments after next year's local elections.
Ferran Pedret, the parliamentary leader of the Socialists, stated in an interview with ACN that the party will act decisively to block far-right influence: "We will do everything in our power to block the far right from any municipal government."
Pedret issued a warning to Junts, urging the party not to lend institutional credibility to far-right rhetoric. He called such efforts "counterproductive," adding that "the traditional right has paid a high price to learn this lesson." He referenced "historical and recent examples" that support this view, without specifying them.
PSC stands firm on progressive alliances
"We have always prioritised progressive agreements," Pedret said, acknowledging that local circumstances have occasionally led to different coalition arrangements. However, he stressed that this does not open the door to negotiations with the far right. "The PSC's commitment is absolute in this regard," he concluded.
"We will do everything in our power to block the far right from any municipal government."
The remarks follow controversy in Ripoll, where Socialist councillors abstained in a municipal budget vote last year under a council led by Aliança Catalana president Sílvia Orriols. The incident fractured relations between the local PSC group and the Girona regional federation, resulting in the dissolution of the local branch.
Building stronger local candidacies
Pedret expressed confidence that the PSC will field "more and stronger" candidates across all Catalan regions in the 2027 elections, including areas where the party has historically struggled to gain ground.
In mid-June, the PSC's electoral commission validated over 120 candidates, including Joan Manuel Robles in Olot and Fernando Carrera in Badalona. The candidacy for Girona remains unclear, with speculation that Sílvia Paneque, the current Minister for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, could return to local politics after winning in 2023. Pedret said he knows of no government member considering a move to municipal office.
Rejecting political triangulation claims
Pedret dismissed suggestions that PSC leader and Catalan president Salvador Illa is targeting Sílvia Orriols to weaken separatism. "That is utterly false," he asserted, reaffirming the party's focus on opposing far-right policies directly.
"What we do is try to convince people who say they want to vote for them that the policies they propose are wrong and will lead us to real disasters," Pedret explained, underscoring the party's strategy of direct political confrontation.
Reported by racocatala.cat, Diari de Girona, Nació Digital, Racó Català.
