Junts fights to hold Sant Cugat mayorship

Josep Maria Vallès took office as mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès on June 17, 2023, after Junts per Sant Cugat emerged as the largest list in the municipal election and no alternative candidate secured an absolute majority in the council. Ten days later, Vallès and ERC spokesperson Bernat Picornell presented a governing agreement that gave the coalition 13 of the 25 seats in the plenary, enough for an absolute majority. That majority is now the center of the political story in one of Catalonia’s wealthiest and most closely watched municipalities. Local reporting in recent months has shown repeated friction between Junts and its only remaining governing partner, ERC, even as both parties have publicly defended the coalition’s stability. Vallès has also moved to lock in his position before the next contest, announcing on April 9, 2026, that he would seek re-election and then being ratified by Junts on April 29. (premsa.santcugat.cat) ### How did Junts take the mayor’s office in 2023? Josep Maria Vallès became mayor because Junts was the most-voted list on May 28, 2023, and because the investiture vote on June 17 did not produce a rival candidate with 13 votes. Vallès received 9 votes in that session, while other declared candidates split the rest, according to Sant Cugat city hall’s press office. (totsantcugat.cat) The June 27, 2023 coalition agreement with ERC turned that minority investiture into a working majority. City hall said the Junts-ERC government controlled 13 of the 25 council seats and divided the administration into four deputy mayoralties and 11 portfolios, with Picornell taking a deputy mayor role. (premsa.santcugat.cat) ### Why is the Junts-ERC alliance under pressure now? March 27, 2026 offered one of the clearest public signs of strain. In a plenary debate on a People’s Party motion on publicly funded private schools, Junts introduced amendments and the measure advanced on Mayor Vallès’s casting vote after a 12-12 split, with ERC voting against Junts’s amendments alongside PSC, CUP, En Comú Podem and Vox. (premsa.santcugat.cat) Local media have also reported disagreements between the two governing parties on immigration and on the pace of implementing parts of their coalition deal. In July 2025, Vallès and Picornell appeared together to present a midterm review and said the government remained “solid,” while opposition parties described the administration as uncoordinated and divided. (totsantcugat.cat) ### Why does Sant Cugat matter beyond one town hall? Sant Cugat del Vallès has long carried symbolic weight in Catalan municipal politics because it was a stronghold of the old Convergència orbit from which Junts descends. Artur Mas made that point when he appeared with Vallès on April 29 and said the city’s political model had been sustained through continuity between successive mayors and governing teams. (totsantcugat.cat) That history helps explain why Junts has treated the next race as an early priority. Vallès said on April 9 that he wanted to lead the party again in the municipal election scheduled for May 2027, and Junts confirmed him as its candidate later that month in an event backed by Mas and by a video message from Carles Puigdemont. (totsantcugat.cat) ### What are Vallès and ERC still governing together on? January 16, 2026, Vallès pointed to street cleaning, waste collection and housing projects as urgent items for the remainder of the term. In the same period, the governing parties said they were advancing an affordable-housing plan aimed at bringing protected housing to 10% of the city’s stock by 2030, with about 600 units already in place and roughly 500 more being prepared, according to Picornell. (totsantcugat.cat) Those shared policy goals have so far kept the coalition in office. But the March plenary split showed that Junts may not always be able to count on ERC in politically sensitive votes, forcing Vallès to rely on procedural advantages or support from parties outside the government. (totsantcugat.cat) ### What happens next in Sant Cugat? May 2027 is the next fixed date in the fight for Sant Cugat city hall. Vallès is already confirmed as Junts’s candidate, and the current Junts-ERC government remains in office until then unless the coalition breaks or an alternative majority emerges in the 25-seat council. (totsantcugat.cat) (totsantcugat.cat)