MP in Congress Meritxell Batet, new Spanish minister of public administrations

The Catalan Socialist MP in the Spanish Congress Meritxell Batet will be the new Spanish minister of public administration. She will be the person in charge of dealing with the regional policy, amid the crisis and the ongoing push for independence in Catalonia. In the past few years, Batet has been one of the closest allies of the new Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, and has spent 14 years as MP in the Spanish lower chamber. Batet, member of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) is the second confirmed Spanish minister coming from Catalonia, after Josep Borrell, who will lead the foreign affairs department.

Batet was the number 1 in the Barcelona constituency for the Socialists in the last 2016 Spanish snap election. She was also number 2 in Madrid, only behind Pedro Sánchez, in the 2015 vote. She worked as secretary of Studies and Programs in the Spanish Socialist Party for two years (2014-2016.) Then, she was in charge of encouraging the federal project for Spain that the Catalan Socialists have been defending in the past few years.