Politics · Spain · 10 hrs ago
Salvador Illa backs Jordi Hereu as PSC candidate for Spain’s November election
Salvador Illa, leader of Catalonia’s Socialist Party (PSC) and head of the regional government, has proposed Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu as the party’s lead candidate for Barcelona in Spain’s 29 November general election.
The nomination still needs formal approval, which the PSC plans to consider on Friday alongside the rest of its candidate lists.
Illa said the party wants to build on its support in the 2023 election.
He also criticised the Catalan party Junts for refusing to back government housing measures.
Illa questioned whether Junts can still influence national policy, as its predecessors once did.
He framed the dispute as a choice between siding with ordinary people and siding with elites.
The criticism comes as housing affordability and insecurity are major concerns in Catalonia.
Salvador Illa backed Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu as the PSC candidate for Spain’s November 29 general election.
Hereu’s proposed candidacy as the lead candidate for Barcelona still requires formal approval by the party.
Illa criticised Junts for refusing to support the government’s housing decrees and questioned the party’s political influence.
Illa said the PSC stood “on the side of the people” while others stood “on the side of the elites.”
The PSC is due to ratify the proposal and reveal the rest of its candidate lists on Friday.
- Who
- Salvador Illa backed Jordi Hereu, Spain’s Industry and Tourism Minister, as the PSC candidate.
- What
- The PSC proposed Hereu as its lead candidate for Barcelona in the general election. The proposal still requires formal party approval.
- When
- The announcement was made on Sunday, October 11, 2026. The election is scheduled for November 29.
- Where
- At the PSC headquarters in Barcelona.
- Why
- Illa said he wanted to build on the support the party received in the 2023 election. He also criticised Junts over its stance on government housing decrees.
PSC
Junts
Support for government housing decrees
PSC
Illa said Junts’s refusal to support the decrees was deeply disappointing and questioned the party’s usefulness.
Junts
Junts’s Miriam Nogueras said the party would not support either a right-wing and far-right government or a left-wing government.
Political influence
PSC
Illa argued that Junts should seek to govern or influence decisions to help Catalonia advance.
Junts
Junts’s stated position, as reported by Illa, was not to support either type of government.
What enormous disappointment Junts has caused. Catalans deserve a clear answer to a question. I have read statements by Miriam Nogueras saying they will not support a government of the right and far right, nor a government of the left. So what are they for?
We are on the side of the people; others are on the side of the elites.
Illa presented Hereu as the PSC’s proposed candidate at an extraordinary party council in Barcelona.
The PSC is due to ratify Hereu’s proposed candidacy and reveal the rest of its candidate lists.
Spain’s general election is scheduled to take place.
- Candidate
- Jordi Hereu
- Party
- Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC)
- Proposed constituency
- Barcelona
- Election date
- November 29, 2026
- Formal approval
- Scheduled for Friday, October 16, 2026






