[1] He joined the Socialist Youth of Catalonia (Joventut Socialista de Catalunya) in 1983 and was its first secretary from 1991 to 1993.

[8][9] At the 1999 regional election Elena was placed 39th on the Socialists' Party of Catalonia-Citizens for Change electoral alliance's list of candidates in the Province of Barcelona but the party only managed to win 36 seats in the province and as a result he failed to get elected.

[18] In June 2012 Elena and other PSC members supportive of a referendum in Catalan independence formed Avancem.

[23][24] In January 2014 Elena, Geli and Ventura went against PSC policy and supported a motion in the Parliament of Catalonia asking the Congress of Deputies for the power to hold a consultation on the possibility of Catalan independence.

[2] In July 2017 he was interviewed by the Civil Guard investigating preparations for the proposed unilateral referendum.

[2][38] During the 2018 Catalan government formation, he was nominated by ERC to be Minister of Health but ultimately wasn't appointed by President Quim Torra due to the need to balance the distribution of portfolios amongst the coalition partners.