The Socialists have managed to turn Catalonia once again into one of their great strongholds in the general elections. With 19 seats and 34.5% of the vote, the PSC has clearly prevailed and has recovered the title of party with the most votes. It is a position that they had not achieved since 2008, when they obtained 25 seats with Carme Chacón as a candidate, and which allowed José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, the former president most present in this electoral campaign, to be revalidated in Moncloa.
"Catalonia has spoken and it has been key and decisive," said the president of Congress and head of the PSC list for Barcelona, Meritxell Batet, in her appearance after learning of the results, especially celebrating having surpassed one million votes in Catalonia and widening the differential of deputies with the PP to 13 seats.
The call of the Socialists to the useful vote – “everything on the red” as they said in the campaign – has had an effect and Pedro Sánchez's party has added seven more seats in Catalonia compared to the results of four years ago. In addition, the good results obtained by the PSC have not penalized their government partners, who have achieved a surprising second position ahead even of ERC, who won in 2019. The Socialists, on this occasion, point out that they have won more votes than the pro-independence parties combined, although the investiture of Pedro Sánchez will be in their hands.
For the leader of the party in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, election night leaves a clear and indisputable conclusion with an eye on Moncloa: "The whole of Spaniards has said a resounding no to a Feijóo government with Vox that will make us go back, they have said yes to a government that represents plural and diverse Spain, and to the leadership of Pedro Sánchez."
The appearance of Illa and Batet at the PSC headquarters on Pallars street was the culmination of a night that led to overflowing joy after they were much more cautious at the beginning of the count due to polls that gave them far fewer deputies than they ended up getting. As the count progressed, they saw it clear that they were going to save much more than the furniture and that they could be proud of the result obtained. In the party they also celebrate the 12 senators they have obtained, three from each province, an also historic result for the formation, which four years ago only got two.
But it is not only the number of deputies and the difference with the rest of the parties that leads to the celebration. The Socialists have been the party with the most votes in all the Catalan provinces, with 13 seats in Barcelona and two in Girona, Lleida and Tarragona. They also win in the twenty largest cities in Catalonia. They do it clearly in the capital, in Barcelona, getting more than twice as many votes as the second most voted party, to the joy of the mayor, Jaume Collboni. On the night of the municipal elections, two months ago, after a heart-stopping electoral recount at that same headquarters on Pallars street, Collboni showed his conviction that he would end up being mayor despite not being the most voted force. In the end he ended up getting it, a play that they hope to get now in Madrid as well.
The PSC has also been the force with the most votes in the entire metropolitan area, without exception, with very clear majorities in the cities where they have already won resounding victories in the municipal elections, but also in those where they have lost, such as Badalona and Castelldefels.
Socialist dominance in Catalonia this time has gone much further. The map is stained red even far from traditional strongholds such as Baix Llobregat and the Socialists have come to prevail in places where independence forces previously won, such as Manresa and Berga.
