The Catalan socialist Jordi Hereu (Barcelona, 1965) will be the new Minister of Industry, replacing Héctor Gómez, who was appointed in the last Government crisis to replace Reyes Maroto. Hereu was mayor of Barcelona between 2006 and 2011 and, until now, he was the president of Hispasat, the Spanish satellite operator.

His profile covers the quota of Catalan socialists, a key territory for Ferrraz, in the socialist Councils of Ministers.. Furthermore, his election continues the tradition of the Executives of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero when it comes to granting the Ministry of Industry to the PSC: José Montilla (2004-2006) and Joan Clos (2006-2008) were before him..

Pedro Sánchez also recognizes, with the election of Hereu, the specific weight of the PSC at an organic level and the importance it had in the last general elections in June. The Catalan socialists were the first force in their region and, in the end, one of the pillars of the PSOE result at the national level. In addition, elections are expected in Catalonia for 2025, but in the current scenario, no one rules out moving the event forward to next year..

Hereu's political career has been linked mainly to the Consistory of Barcelona. Precisely, there he obtained the baton of command after Clos himself abandoned responsibility to take the pulse of the Ministry of Industry 16 years ago..

Subsequently, in the 2007 municipal elections in Barcelona, the PSC list won, with Hereu at the head, to govern in said legislature.. At the end of those four years as first mayor, Hereu suffered a painful defeat in the consultation to reform the emblematic Diagonal Avenue.

After a year in the opposition of the Plenary, he decided to leave politics for the private sector, until today, when he returns to the front page with a ministerial portfolio.

From satellites to industry

The new minister has accumulated more than three years of experience in the business world since then. The Red Eléctrica Group, later renamed Redeia, appointed the PSC activist as president of the satellite company in October 2020.. Redeia, chaired by former minister Beatriz Corredor and whose largest shareholder is the State through SEPI (20% of the capital), bought Hispasat in 2019.

In addition to all the international business that Hispasat has developed under Hereu's mandate in these three years (Amazonas Nexus is already operational), the firm has collaborated directly with the Government to promote the UNICO Rural program that seeks to bring internet to the entire national territory. through satellite, to connect those territories that are not yet reached by fiber optics. The program is developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs directed by Nadia Calviño.

Jordi Hereu enjoys recognition for his management at Hispasat. Sources familiar with Redeia, but unrelated to the managers closest to Pedro Sánchez's Executive, point out that Hereu is appreciated for his work in the company. Hispasat is partially compensating for the drop in regulated income of Red Eléctrica within Redeia.

This firm also controls Hisdesat, the military satellite management part.. Therefore, Hereu also has knowledge of the military industry after the Government's commitment to increase military spending to meet its objectives in NATO and while Indra, another company controlled by the State and chaired by another member of the PSC, also wants to focus on that segment.

Distribution of EU funds and the Siemens Gamesa crisis

Hereu enters one of the ministries that has to distribute the most European funds for the conversion of some industries (PERTE VEC, PERTE Naval, PERTE decarbonization). Among his closest duties is to fulfill the commitments acquired by his predecessor, Héctor Gómez, with the Stellantis group, the largest automobile manufacturer in Spain, with large factories in Vigo and Zaragoza.. It is expected to be one of the major beneficiaries of the third part of the automobile PERTE, which manages the portfolio of the new Minister of Industry.

The most complicated part that will have to be managed imminently is the Siemens Gamesa crisis. Gómez announced last week that the Government will endorse the rescue of Siemens Energy. 5,000 jobs are at stake in Spain, where Gamesa has various industrial production centers.