Catalonia swears in new government ending separatist rule

BARCELONA: Spain´s ruling Socialists regained control of Catalonia´s regional government as a new cabinet was sworn in on Monday, ending over a decade of separatist rule in the region.

The 16-member cabinet is led by Salvador Illa, who was Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez´s health minister during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I want to assure you that the government will govern for all, this is a real obsession,” Illa said during the swearing-in ceremony.

It is the first time since 2010 that the wealthy northeastern region has a government that does not come from the pro-independence camp. The Socialists won the most seats in a regional election in May, but fell short of a majority. Illa secured the support of the tiny far-left Comuns party -- part of the Sumar alliance that backs Sanchez at national level -- and moderate separatist ERC party to become regional leader in a vote on Thursday in Catalonia´s regional assembly.

Forming a government in Catalonia will be seen as a vindication of Sanchez´s strategy of trying to tamp down support for separatism in the region by offering concessions, including a controversial amnesty for those involved in an illegal independence referendum in 2017 that triggered Spain´s worst political crisis in decades.