The most viral politician of the day | Albiol fulfills his promise to evict an occupied premises in Badalona

While the Cortes are dissolved, the royal decree-law must undergo validation by the Permanent Deputation of the Congress to maintain its validity beyond its provisional nature. It does not have to wait for the elections or the constitution of the new Parliament. It is important to distinguish two moments: its entry into force, linked to its publication, and its validation, which allows it to remain in force.

1. Publication and entry into force

Approval by the Council of Ministers does not replace the publication of the royal decree-law in the Official State Gazette. To know when it begins to apply, one must refer to the entry into force provision of the text itself: the approval date should not be confused with the date from which it produces effects.

Therefore, validation is not a prior authorization for it to begin to apply. The decree-law may be producing effects before that vote, but its continuity is subject to mandatory parliamentary control. Precisely for this reason, it is referred to as a provisional provision with the force of law.

2. Intervention of the Permanent Deputation

During the dissolution, this control corresponds to the Permanent Deputation of the Congress, not that of the Senate. Article 57.1.a of the Congress Regulations grants it "all the powers that, in relation to Decree-laws, Article 86 of the Constitution attributes to the Congress of Deputies."

Its Presidency may convene it on its own initiative or at the request of two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of its members. Therefore, the dissolution does not leave the Government without control over decree-laws nor does it automatically allow postponing their examination until the next legislature.

3. Debate and voting within the deadline

Article 151.1 of the Regulations establishes that the debate and voting must take place before thirty days have passed since its promulgation, in accordance with Article 86.2 of the Constitution. The decree-law may be included on the agenda from the moment it is published in the Official State Gazette.

The procedure is brief and focuses on accepting or rejecting the decree-law as a whole:

• A Government member presents the reasons that motivated its approval.
• A general debate is held, that is, on the entire text.
• A vote is taken: affirmative votes support validation and negative votes support repeal.

An express pronouncement is required: the decree-law cannot be considered validated by silence or merely by the passage of time.

4. Effects of the decision and publication

If the Permanent Deputation validates it, the decree-law passes that control and maintains its validity. If it agrees to repeal it, it cannot remain in force based on its initial approval by the Government. In both cases, the agreement must be published in the Official State Gazette, according to Article 151.6 of the Regulations.

Validation does not imply that its content is unchangeable forever: what it does is overcome the parliamentary control required to preserve the norm.

5. No second validation needed

Once the new Congress is constituted, the Permanent Deputation reports on the matters dealt with and the decisions adopted, according to Article 59. Repeating the validation in the first session period is not required.

Additionally, Article 151.5 allows the Permanent Deputation to process decree-laws issued between legislatures as bills, through the urgent procedure. This possibility is different from validation: it does not constitute an additional requirement to keep a decree-law already validated in force.

In summary: publication and entry into force, debate and validation by the Permanent Deputation, and publication of the agreement. The procedural rules are in Articles 56 to 59 and 151 of the Congress Regulations.

Xavier García Albiol, from the Popular Party, has been mayor of Badalona since June 2023 and has held the position in three periods: 2011-2015, 2020-2021, and since 2023. As mayor, he directs the municipal government and represents the City Council, but it is important to distinguish his personal powers from the competencies of the entire council and his political priorities.

Competencies and responsibilities as mayor

His main function is to exercise political and administrative municipal leadership: coordinating government areas, promoting the operation of services, and institutionally representing Badalona before other administrations. He also presides over the Plenary and the Local Government Board, according to municipal organization.

The main areas over which he exercises this leadership are:

• Security and coexistence: superior direction of the municipal police and coordination of local security, traffic, and coexistence actions.
• Services and public space: promotion of cleaning, waste collection, lighting, street maintenance, sewage, and equipment conservation.
• Urban planning and housing: promotion of urban development actions, urban discipline, and municipal housing, within the distribution of functions among City Council bodies.
• Economic management: responsibilities in budget execution, contracting, and assets, subject to legal procedures and municipal control.
• Citizen attention: coordination of social policies, culture, sports, neighborhood participation, and promotion of commerce and economic activity.

These matters are not exclusive powers that he can exercise without the intervention of other bodies: they are distributed among the Mayor's Office, Plenary, Government Board, and delegated councilors. Therefore, his messages about security, immigration, or occupation should be differentiated from the specific scope of his municipal powers.

Political trajectory and mayoral terms

Born in Badalona in 1967, he joined the PP in 1989 and was elected councilor in 1991. Before reaching the Mayor's Office, he accumulated two decades of municipal activity, as well as responsibilities in the party and supramunicipal institutions, according to his biographical profile.

• 2011-2015: he first became mayor after his candidacy was the most voted. In 2015 he won the elections again, but an agreement among other forces allowed Dolors Sabater to be invested.
• 2020-2021: he returned on May 12, 2020, after Àlex Pastor's resignation and the lack of agreement to elect another candidate. He did not arrive through a motion of no confidence against Pastor. His term ended on November 8, 2021, when a motion of no confidence placed Rubén Guijarro at the head of the City Council.
• Since 2023: he regained the Mayor's Office on June 17 with an absolute majority: 18 of the 27 councilors. That majority allows him to govern without needing pacts with other parties, according to the Demócrata chronology.

Outside the City Council, he was a deputy in the Parliament between 2015 and 2019, senator between 2016 and 2018, and president of the Catalan PP between 2017 and 2018. He has also held responsibilities in the Barcelona Provincial Council.

Milestones and controversies

His municipal trajectory includes significant controversies. He was acquitted in 2013 regarding the 2010 leaflets linking Romanian Gypsy citizens with crime; the acquittal was confirmed in 2014. The revelation of his connection as a proxy with a company in Belize, within the Pandora Papers, preceded the 2021 motion of no confidence, according to the cited Demócrata chronology.

As a novelty in his trajectory, on October 17, 2026, he announced his candidacy for Congress for Barcelona for the November 29 elections, stating he would maintain his commitment to the Mayor's Office (Albiol's announcement).

To access the benefit for caring for minors with cancer or another serious illness, known as CUME, it is not enough to prove the diagnosis: there must be medical need for care, reduction of working hours, and Social Security requirements. Additionally, it is necessary to distinguish the already regulated conditions from the novelties of the Royal Decree-law 31/2026, of October 20, published today, and the new regulation still pending.

Medical and family requirements

The reference regulation is Royal Decree 1148/2011, modified by Royal Decree 677/2023. It requires:

• Serious illness and effective care. Cancer or another disease included in the regulatory list must require "direct, continuous, and permanent" care. Hospitalization and continuous treatment are contemplated, including home care after diagnosis and hospitalization. The catalog includes open clauses; it is not limited exclusively to listed diagnoses.
• Health accreditation. A declaration from the public health service physician or the responsible autonomous health body must be submitted. If care is private, the private center's doctor must also intervene.
• Relationship with the sick person. Parents, adoptive parents, guardians for adoption purposes, and permanent foster carers may access it. The spouse or domestic partner of the adult sick person is also contemplated, meeting the requirements.
• Age. Protection can be maintained or recognized up to 23 years if the illness was diagnosed before 18. It can be extended up to 26 if a disability equal to or greater than 65% is accredited before turning 23.

Work, registration, and contribution

The applicant must work as an employee or self-employed, be registered and active, and reduce their working hours by at least 50%. Those who pay their own contributions must be up to date with payments.

As a general rule, both parents must work. There are exceptions for single-parent families and for nullity, separation, divorce, termination of domestic partnership, or gender violence: the person living with the sick person may access it even if the other parent does not work.

The minimum contribution depends on the age at the start of the reduction:

• Under 21 years: no prior contribution is required.
• From 21 to 25 years: 90 days in the previous seven years or 180 during the entire working life.
• From 26 years: 180 days in the previous seven years or 360 during the entire working life.

What the new measures incorporate

The Royal Decree-law 31/2026 was published on October 21. According to Demócrata, it allows extending protection beyond 26 years with grade III dependency or disability of at least 65%, and contemplates simultaneous or alternative perception by both parents.

The information consulted does not specify the application dates nor all the conditions of these novelties. They should not be confused with the still pending regulation, which foresees updating care situations and simplifying renewals.

How to apply

The application is submitted to the corresponding managing entity or mutual insurance company, providing medical declaration, family accreditation, employer certificate of reduction, and contribution bases; self-employed present activity declarations. To receive payment from the start of the reduction, it must be requested within three months; afterwards, the maximum retroactivity is three months. The resolution must be notified within 30 days. Civil servants have a specific regime, different from this subsidy.