Barcelona en Comú is leaning to the left, leaving the door open for Ada Colau in 2027.

BarcelonaBarcelona en Comú has set a goal: to reclaim the mayoralty in the 2027 municipal elections from Jaume Collboni, whom they accuse of being an ally of lobbyists and whom they have been trying to undermine for months to position themselves as the alternative "for the city's working classes." The loss of the mayoralty and Ada Colau's withdrawal from the political frontline was a blow to the municipalist party, which held a congress this weekend to update its ideology and overcome the disenchantment that, they admit, is still felt among its electorate. The recipe they propose is more left-leaning alliances (and away from the PSC) and to become stronger as a political organization in the neighborhoods, now that BComú has celebrated its 10th anniversary. But, regarding the 2027 candidacy, the party has opted to take a back seat: although the report reiterates the need to limit the terms of its public officials, it also leaves the door open to Colau should she decide to run for mayor again on the PSC ticket.

Until now, Barcelona en Comú's code of ethics set a limit for elected officials of "two consecutive terms, exceptionally extendable to one more term provided there is a process of citizen discussion and validation," as occurred in Colau's case, with the endorsement of the rank and file. Now, the new political report kicks the ball forward and leaves the final formula for the years and possible exceptions in the hands of the Ethics Committee. This has been a topic of debate within the party's groups in the process leading up to this weekend's congress in the Cotxeres de Sants, under the motto "We rethink Barcelona." As was also noted in the Commons assembly in November, sources within the party admit concern about the lack of leadership renewal, but, at the same time, emphasize the political capital Colau represents for the electorate.

To begin with, the former mayor is now focused on the presidency of the Sentido Común foundation and her role as an international activist on issues such as denouncing the war in Gaza or defending LGBTI rights. She spoke on the first day of the congress, but not at the closing ceremony with the leading figures of Comuns. In any case, and in an interview with Europa Press on the anniversary of BComú's victory in the 2015 municipal elections, Colau left the door open to returning "exceptionally" to the political frontline "if it would really be very useful."

The risk of "erosion"

Following discussions with members and representatives of social movements since January, the report opted for this Ethics Committee, made up of five members endorsed by the plenary, to establish how to limit the terms of public officials. It will do so "soon," according to party sources, who clarify that the final version of the code of ethics in which it will be included must then be approved by the coordinating committee and the plenary. However, the text approved at the congress also issues a warning: "Without clear mechanisms for limiting and renewing positions, the risk is the consolidation of closed dynamics, internal co-optation, and the erosion of collective trust." Another person who could be affected by the limit could be the current leader of the Barcelona en Comú municipal group, Janet Sanz, a councilor since 2011—although, before joining BComú, she was a councilor for ICV.

Regarding the party's organic positions, the document does set an expiration date: they cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. Furthermore, the new report reforms the list-drawing system and incorporates two rounds of primaries: the first, for the tandem of numbers 1 and 2 (who will choose the top five positions on the list) and the second, to choose the sixth to fifteenth positions, respecting parity criteria.

ERC and the CUP, allies before the PSC

The new roadmap also delves into Barcelona en Comú's political alliances in this new phase, which they see marked by the definitive end of the 15-M cycle and the Procés. The leadership's proposal places Esquerra and the CUP (currently unrepresented in the city council) as key allies against the PSC and, above all, against a hypothetical socio-convergent alliance with Junts in the city. This possibility was truncated in 2023 when Xavier Trias defeated Jaume Collboni, but the socialist won the mayor's office at the last minute thanks to the votes of BComú and the PP. The decision to give the votes to the PSC at the time already divided the space: looking back, There have been voices that have questioned this movement, especially after the socialist mayor approached ERC to close a government pact (finally, failed) instead of doing so with BComú, which had insistently asked for a left-wing tripartite government.

The initial draft of the report even spoke of creating a "left-wing sovereignty blog" (which, incidentally, makes no mention of Podemos) to challenge the PSC's "hegemony," but as a result of individual and party amendments, the leadership suffered, which speaks of seeking "cooperation" and "shared spaces" with both forces. This is not an unusual move in the history of Barcelona en Comú, which in 2015 already attempted to seek an alliance with the CUP to run jointly, only to fail due to the presence of ICV on the ticket. Until now, one of the elements that has hindered understanding with ERC has been the complicated relationship between Comuns and the ERC leader in the City Council, Elisenda Alamany, who once clashed with the purple party.