Spanish elections and politics III / Pedro Sánchez faces a new term as PM

[Alcibiades]

The main problem the people who were in PSOE during the Gonzalez era but are heavy Sanchez critics and even outright conservatives nowaday claim is the fact that Sanchez is willing to do deals and coalitions with secessionist parties. Whether it is true or just a convenient excuse who knows, but I'd believe them given it's a critic from many who were even in the more progressive side of the party in the 80s and 90s! (like deputy PM Alfonso Guerra, also a Sanchez critic)

Yep, this is the main factor. All those dinosaurs come from an era when the PSOE was more "culturally conservative", meaning it was relatively hawkish with regards to Catalonia and more unapologetically "patriotic" or "Spanish" (the native term being españolista); although this paradigm started to shift already during the Zapatero years, when the PSOE adopted more dovish stance with a more pluralistic concept of Spain in which Catalonia and others could be considered nations within a nation.

In terms of policy, this resulted in the 2006 Catalan Statute of Autonomy, which was controversial because it defined Catalonia as a nation and entitled the region to increased funding from Madrid, among other things. It met heavy opposition from many of the exact same dinosaurs that criticize Sánchez today, with Alfonso Guerra playing a major role in watering down many of its provisions in Congress (something which would fuel separatism in the 2010s). This was when the rift between PSOE leadership and these critics started, having grown wider in recent years due to the deals the current government has with pro-independence parties, as Tack mentioned.

How did this stance square with the fact that the PSOE would always win Catalonia in national elections in that period?

[Alcibiades]

Morning of the Long Knives
Deputy PM Calvo and the Foreign Affairs, Education, Science, Justice, Transport and Culture ministers are out, along with Moncloa Chief of Staff Iván Redondo. A total and complete massacre.

Female majority cabinets are back
Number of Deputy PMs goes down to three. New First Deputy PM is Nadia Calviño, Economy minister. Sánchez confidante Félix Bolaños replaces Calvo as Minister for the Presidency. Sánchez oldtimer Óscar López makes a comeback as Chief of Staff. Senate President Pilar Llop becomes the new Minister of Justice, rumor has it Susana Díaz could replace her in the upper chamber.

Fresh faces in the rest of posts. Also, mayors. Mayor of Gavá Raquel Sánchez replaces former heavyweight José Luis Ábalos (he is also out as PSOE organization secretary) in Transport, Zaragoza councillor Pilar Alegría is the new Minister for Education and Mayor of Puertollano Isabel Rodríguez comes in as Territorial Policy Minister, replacing Miquel Iceta, who remains in the cabinet as Minister for Culture; in addition to Government Spokesperson. Ambassador to France José Manuel Albares is the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sadly, we no longer have an astronaut in the Council of Ministers. Minister of Science Pedro Duque is being replaced by (surprise, surprise) a mayor. Specifically the Mayor of Gandía, Diana Morant.

Forgive my ignorance, but it seems a bit unusual to me that mayors of cities of about 50,000, and a mere councillor from a city of 700,000, would be appointed to the national cabinet. How common is this in Spain, and how well-known were these individuals before becoming ministers?