Girona’s political field is facing deep uncertainty just months before the next municipal elections. Long considered a stronghold of Catalan independentism, the city is now at the center of shifting alliances and leadership crises. The governing coalition between Guanyem (CUP), Junts, and ERC has collapsed, forcing Mayor Lluc Salellas to seek new support. His unexpected agreement with the PSC has shifted the balance of power and raised questions about the future direction of Girona’s city hall.
The breakdown came after Junts withdrew from the municipal government, citing repeated breaches of agreement. Salellas responded by negotiating a new municipal arrangement with the PSC, securing five basic commitments in exchange for its support: preserving Parc Jordi Vilamitjana, building the Provincial Archive in Fontajau, safeguarding the Truffaut cinema, improving waste collection, and renovating Carrer de la Creu. Led by Sílvia Paneque, the PSC received the most votes in the 2023 municipal election, but an agreement among Guanyem, ERC, and Junts brought Salellas to the mayoralty. That distinction between the largest vote share and control of the mayor’s office helps explain how the PSC’s return to a basic position can reshape the governing balance without changing who initially won the mayoralty. Paneque’s own future as a candidate remains unclear.
Provincial results underline the PSC’s electoral strength across the wider Girona area, though they are separate from the city’s municipal vote. In the 2023 Spanish general election, the PSC led the province with 28.93% of the vote and won two of its six Congress seats. Junts also won two seats, with 19.58%; ERC took one seat with 14.72%, and Sumar secured the remaining seat with 10.94%. Together, the PSC, Junts, and ERC held five of the province’s six seats. That reflects their broader political weight, not direct support in Girona city.
The situation is further complicated by turmoil within ERC. The party’s mayoral candidate, Marc Puigtió, resigned after leaked audio revealed him criticizing his own party. The conflict has left ERC without a clear leader and exposed deep divisions among its local ranks. Diari de Girona reported that Puigtió’s narrow primary victory and a sudden influx of new party members, many reportedly close to him, intensified the party’s instability.
Meanwhile, Junts faces challenges of its own. After three years in government, the party, represented by former minister Gemma Geis, is distancing itself from the current administration’s record. Geis has faced no internal challenges to her leadership, thanks to the backing of Carles Puigdemont. She must now contend with criticism of the timing of Junts’ coalition exit and its loss of control in Girona, a city previously led by Puigdemont and Marta Madrenas. The independentist bloc no longer governs any of Catalonia’s four provincial capitals and sees Girona as a impressive chance to regain influence.
Junts also retains use over municipal decisions. On 23 October 2026, Geis, the party’s spokesperson in Girona, tied Junts’ support for the city’s 2027 budget to immediate measures in the Barri Vell, including greater police presence, regular municipal-police patrols on the Rambla de la Llibertat, a coordinated response to homelessness, stronger cleaning, and repairs to urban furniture. She also called for additional Mossos d’Esquadra resources from the Generalitat if the city’s own capacity proved insufficient. Geis said Junts would not sit down to negotiate without action, making the party’s budget position another test of the city’s shifting alliances.
The city administration has also suffered reputational damage from failed initiatives, including the much-publicized but problematic rollout of smart waste containers. Some policy positions have also sparked controversy, including questions about the need for a homeless shelter amid socio-economic disparities between Girona’s neighborhoods. The city shares that situation with Badalona.
Several basic questions remain unresolved as the election approaches: whether Paneque will leave her current government post to run for mayor, what role Puigdemont might play if amnestied, and whether the independentist alliance can be rebuilt. Girona’s uncertainty echoes broader volatility in other Spanish cities, including Seville, where coalition politics have reshaped local governance, as detailed in this analysis of Seville’s first democratic mayor.
Girona’s recent history includes international acclaim alongside local challenges. Landmarks such as the Cathedral and the Celler de Can Roca have raised the city’s global profile, in contrast with its current political instability. With nine months until the next vote, the outcome remains highly unpredictable, and the city’s leadership is more contested than at any point in recent memory.
Girona is the capital of one of Catalonia’s four provinces and has often served as a bellwether for regional political trends. Its shifting alliances and leadership struggles may signal broader changes in Catalan politics, as independentist parties seek to regain lost ground. The coming months will determine whether Girona remains under independentist control or the PSC can use the current fragmentation to reclaim the mayoralty.
