Catalonia’s political parties are targeting the moderate center once dominated by CDC. Recent moves by major figures signal a renewed fight for this impressive electoral space, reshaping the region’s political field.
Catalonia’s political center, once the stronghold of the convergent vote before the upheaval of the ‘procés’, is again drawing competition from major parties. In recent months, several high-profile moves have shown the strategic importance of this moderate, Catalanist segment, which has remained largely unrepresented since the 2021 elections. Its importance reaches beyond regional politics: Catalonia elects 42 of the 350 members of Spain’s Congress of Deputies, making its electorate a impressive factor in national contests.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo has publicly declared the ‘procés’ era over, seeking to attract voters who were once basic to the Partido Popular’s national majorities three decades ago. In a reported interview, the PP leader put his approach this way: “I will not talk to you about the past. Let’s turn the page.” He has shifted the debate toward housing and infrastructure, while also addressing regional financing and public services. He has argued that Catalonia must contribute to a broad national majority. The strategy follows the PP’s weak 2023 general-election performance, when Feijóo fell four seats short of forming a government.
The party is working to recover ground lost since the ‘procés’. It won six Catalan seats in the 2023 general election, five in Barcelona and one in Tarragona, and has set a target of doubling that representation to 12. Feijóo has pointed to close contests in Girona and Lleida, saying: “Three years ago, we lost a seat in Lleida and another in Girona by a few hundred votes. We were four seats short of governing, and two were here.” The reported margin in Girona was about 363 votes, while the shortfall in Lleida exceeded 3,500. In the 2024 Catalan parliamentary election, the PP increased its number of seats fivefold. Its result in the European election also doubled compared with the previous contest.
Meanwhile, Carles Campuzano, a current ERC deputy and former CDC leader, has launched Esquerra Democràtica, a new party designed to broaden ERC’s appeal among the traditional base of Jordi Pujol’s supporters. The JNC has also organized a tribute to Pujol, reflecting the former president’s symbolic weight in today’s political calculations. The PP has put housing and public order alongside constitutional questions in its effort to widen its appeal, linking its campaign to a proposed national anti-squatting law and giving Xavier García Albiol a prominent role in developing the initiative.
Salvador Illa has also sought to align himself with Pujol’s legacy, whether by advocating leniency in the trial of Pujol’s children or by using images tied to Catalan tradition, such as posters featuring sardanistas and flabiols, to welcome the Pope. Separately, Illa has invoked the democratic and pluralist legacy of former Catalan president Josep Tarradellas. At an October 2026 institutional event in Cervelló marking the rehabilitation of Tarradellas’s tomb, the Generalitat president called for emulating his commitment to democratic values and principles, freedom and recognition of Catalonia’s plurality. These actions come from different political directions, but they target the same ideological space: the moderate, centrist Catalanism that once defined the convergent vote.
This ‘phantom space’, as it is now described, consists of voters who historically supported CDC and initially joined the civic movement of the ‘procés’ in response to what they saw as Spain’s failure to address Catalan demands. Over time, many distanced themselves as the movement lost control. By 2021, this group had largely withdrawn from electoral participation, leaving a vacuum no party has managed to fill. The PP’s gains in the 2024 Catalan parliamentary and European elections point to a more competitive post-‘procés’ field, but the center remains contested.
Competition for this segment is intensifying. Whoever captures the moderate center could gain a decisive advantage in Catalonia’s political arena, with potential consequences for national politics as well. This helps explain the careful consensus and respect shown toward Jordi Pujol, now a revered figure, unlike other former leaders who remain more combative. Pujol’s vision of an open Catalonia continues to shape the boundaries of this contested space, while figures like Orriols remain outside its influence.
Public records show that CDC (Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya) dominated Catalan politics for decades, shaping the region’s autonomy and identity. The ‘procés’, the push for Catalan independence, disrupted traditional party loyalties and realigned the electorate. Since then, the moderate center has been described as a ‘black hole’ with the potential to attract support from across the spectrum. The outcome of this renewed contest could determine Catalonia’s future government and influence the balance of power in Madrid, especially as national parties try to avoid losing ground in the region. The developing strategies of Catalonia’s basic parties reflect the high stakes of reclaiming this influential, currently unanchored bloc of voters.
