# PP Pledges to Restore Central State Presence in Basque Country and Catalonia Alberto Núñez Feijóo promises a national audit and reinforcement plan within six months. - **Source:** [El Mundo – Portada](https://www.elmundo.es) - **Published:** 2026-11-08 - **Topic:** [politics](https://brifing.si/c/politics) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/6d590b11-ceaf-4798-bd86-d7e196a3dcc4 ## National Presence Plan Alberto Núñez Feijóo has announced a National Presence Plan to restore central government influence in the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Navarre. If elected, his administration will conduct a comprehensive audit within the first six months to identify areas where state administrative presence has significantly weakened or disappeared over recent years. ## Audit and Infrastructure The proposed audit will examine offices, staffing levels, and physical installations across provinces and cities. The PP intends to rehabilitate police stations and military barracks while filling vacant positions. By incentivizing difficult-to-fill destinations, the government aims to strengthen sub-delegations and ensure the central administration maintains a visible, functional role nationwide. ## Protecting Fiscal Unity A core pillar of the PP program is legally shielding the single Social Security box. This measure prevents the fragmentation of resources by territory, ensuring that contributions continue to fund pensions and benefits across all of Spain. The party also commits to maintaining the absolute unity of the national Tax Agency. ## Context of Transfers The Basque Country, Catalonia, and Navarre have received over 75% of all competency transfers since Pedro Sánchez took office. Over the last eight years, nearly 50 transfers have occurred, including management of the Minimum Vital Income and various transport sectors, which the PP views as a systematic withdrawal of the state. ## Security and Law Enforcement Security forces face significant challenges, with the Civil Guard losing 12% of its personnel in Catalonia since 2017, totaling approximately 600 fewer agents. The PP platform emphasizes reversing this trend, specifically addressing the symbolic and operational importance of maintaining national police headquarters, such as the Via Laietana facility in Barcelona. ## Legal and Constitutional Defense To uphold constitutional order, the PP plans to reintroduce the crime of sedition and the illegal calling of referendums into the Penal Code. The party asserts that while political ideas are democratic, no project stands above the law, signaling a shift toward stricter legal enforcement regarding regional autonomy and national unity. ## Historical Political Debate The PSOE defends current decentralization, noting that previous PP administrations under Rajoy, Aznar, and Zapatero also facilitated numerous competency transfers. Sánchez argues that these concessions have not weakened Spain or corrupted democracy, framing the current state structure as a legitimate evolution of the country's decentralized political system and governance model. ## Strategic Rationale Sociologist Luis Miller argues that central state presence is essential to reduce territorial disparities and ensure convergence. By maintaining a strong administrative footprint, the central government can better protect all citizens and intervene effectively when necessary to restore legal order, as seen during the 2017 crisis in the Catalan region. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.elmundo.es/elecciones/elecciones-generales/2026/11/08/6af06581e85ece11488b4573.html — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._