His last name may be familiar to you. Nacho Catalá (35) is used to being highlighted as the son of former Justice Minister Rafael Catalá. He doesn’t care since, after a brief initial conversation with LOC, he is the one who starts talking about his parent. “My father’s great advice was: ‘First the opposition and then the affiliation’. I first got out of the State Civil Administrator opposition and then I began my political career. father is the minister’. That was a bitch because when I was in opposition they scrutinized me more than the rest. I understand it. Also because I passed, of course [laughs]. For me, more than a pedestal is a slab. You also have to double prove what that you are worth. If you have a father who is a doctor and you do medicine, everyone takes it for granted and here it seems that it helps you. My experience is the opposite, “Catalá assures this supplement of which he is a fan, since he did not abandon his reading nor in his years in opposition.
Nacho also sees his father as a more experienced partner to consult with. A privilege. Despite this, he immediately boasts his own profile. “I tell him that I am a better parliamentarian than him. He is a better manager but I think I am much more political than him.” Not in vain has he earned the trust of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has even trusted him to be one of the members of the steering committee of the parliamentary group in the Madrid Assembly.
He had a vocation for public service from a very young age and as soon as he got his opposition in 2015 he got involved in politics. “I started working at the Ministry of Development. From there they signed me for the design and application of 155. I returned to a civil servant position after the motion of censure and later they called me from the Community of Madrid. I had already been collaborating with the PP and that is why they already included me in the lists of the 4-M elections. I repeated the 28-M and here we are”.
It was precisely when he was immersed in the design and application of the 155 that he met his girlfriend, with whom he will be a father for the first time in a few days. “We were at the Villamejor Palace and she came with a group of colleagues to eat at the Ministry restaurant. One of her companions was a friend of mine and she asked me to show them the palace. It was there when we met and remembering we realized realized that we had competed in opposition”.
Nacho is very excited about his imminent fatherhood. He confesses that the grandparents also since both his father and his mother “have already flooded the house with gifts for the child.” He has not married his girlfriend but he shares something that, according to him, unites them much more: the mortgage. He is no stranger to the fact that access to housing is one of the biggest obstacles to starting a family for people his age. “My girlfriend and I are officials of the highest level of the Administration and even so it has cost us a lot of effort to buy the house. It is true that it is in Chamberí but it has 62 square meters. From my point of view this problem is solved with public policy of rental housing. Give young people the ability to live and be able to save so they can later buy a house.” He also shares a tattoo with his girlfriend, “an invincible summer”, because they started their relationship in a summer that still continues. As a good man from Madrid, Nacho enjoys what he likes the most is going out to eat and discovering new places. Also cook. It is a bargain for his family and friends. “The money is going to eat me.” He loves indie festivals and one of his favorite bands is Vetusta Morla. “It is strange that he has played in Madrid and I have not gone.”
Nacho refers to Ayuso as “the boss” and his commitment and gratitude towards her is noticeable. He acknowledges that one of his successes has been doing politics on the street and instilling it in everyone. “I remember an act in Alcalá de Henares in which the boss had to travel a short stretch. In the end it took two and a half hours because she said: ‘I’m going to stop with everyone. I’m going to listen to them, to take the photos they want, etc. Very British, like Margaret Thatcher ringing house bells”. He also confesses that Ganas’ punch was key in the campaign. “I take my hat off to Alfonso Serrano. He is one of the guys who knows the most about politics in this country. Many of us thought that the song was horrible and he said: you’ll see. Take it now. Alfonso’s song and Rosalía’s have been there”.
He has had a great relationship with Marta Rivera de la Cruz. She is now Feijóo’s number 2 for Congress. Nacho sees it as a success. “Marta’s example widens the party’s social base. I think the center is represented in our initials. Feijóo is the leader the center-right needs because they can trust him.”
Regarding the latest pact with Vox in the Valencian Community, Nacho also spoke out. “The PP aspires for everyone to vote for him and to have a majority as we have done in Madrid, where there is no Vox. That said, I respect Vox and above all the people who vote for him. We go out to win, I insist. If not, You have to sit down and talk with other political formations that are willing to talk.”
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