Several noses wrinkled in October 2022, when Pere Aragonès chose not to have a vice presidency in the monochrome Government that he designed after the departure of Junts. There were many who within Esquerra and in the Parliament took it for granted that the holder of the Presidency portfolio, Laura Vilagrà (Santpedor, Barcelona, 47 years old), would occupy the place. The award for what until now has been the Swiss army knife of the Catalan Executive has had to wait 15 months and from now on the political scientist and master in Public Management is the number two officer of the Government. This is a movement that should not be read in terms of succession and that tries to sell solidity to face the last year of the legislature and a nod to the path of dialogue with the Government.
Even since ERC and Junts agreed on the initial distribution of the portfolios, in 2021, the volume of powers that hung from the usually unwelcome portfolio of the Presidency was surprising. Something that increased considerably with the need to adjust to the reality of a solo Government the following year. In addition to institutional relations, the Legal Office, the Media Secretariat and sports, Vilagrà had to assume the responsibilities of public service, digital transformation and religious affairs after the departure of Junts. Hence her surprise because accepting a department of already pachydermic magnitude did not open the doors for her to be the third woman to be vice president of the Generalitat.
In October 2022, in an informal conversation with journalists, Vilagrà downplayed this increase in workload. She confessed that her love of swimming—she practices it every day—gives her the tools and the endorphins necessary to fulfill what is entrusted to her and make it compatible with being a mother of two girls. Within the party, there is almost unanimous recognition of her career, which they agree began “from the Republican youth” and was founded in local politics and management. After studying Political Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she began serving in the ERC at the age of 22 despite coming from a traditionally convergent home.
She was in the opposition in the Santpedor City Council from 1999 to 2003 and, from then to 2015, she was its mayor, a position that she combined with being a deputy in the Parliament. She managed the Bages Regional Council, after completing her master's degree at Esade. It was Oriol Junqueras himself, the president of the party, who informed him that he would be in the starting positions of the election lists; his technical profile and experience were useful in a party that had set itself the goal of showing itself as a credible manager. Being the official face of relations with the central government – among her functions is leading the representation of the Bilateral Commission – has led her to be at the center of the legislature and she gained political weight until finally reaching the vice presidency.
Vilagrà has had to deal with some of the thorniest issues in the legislature. For example, leading with his central government counterpart, Félix Bolaños, in serious moments such as the confirmation that Aragonès had been one of those spied on through the Pegasus software, thanks to a court order. Or criticize the agreement with Junts for the delegation of immigration powers. Also on the list is the management of the frustrated candidacy for the Winter Olympic Games (it fell due to the lack of agreement with the Government of Aragon), the fiasco due to the chaos in the oppositions in May of last year (13,500 people had to repeat the exam) and budget negotiations in Parliament.
The movement, party sources explain, does not have any component in terms of succession and they accept that it arrives “late.” After the departure of Junts, they explain, the strategy was to put all the focus on an Aragonès that would be criticized by the extreme minority in which it is located. The change that caused movements in Education and Climate Action last June was intended to be limited as much as possible. The moment is different and, now, enthroning Vilagrà fits into the idea of transmitting a strength that the opposition continues to question. It is also a gesture towards La Moncloa, which sees how his official interlocutor – the detail is distributed to other ERC cadres – is finally recognized.
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