The only historic mayor of the Catalan PP dies

BarcelonaThe only historic mayor of the Catalan PP has died. This is Lluís Caldentey, who was mayor of Pontons between 1999 and 2018, and who has passed away at the age of 83, according to the council of his town. Caldentey has been the only historic territorial power of the popular party in the middle of a municipal map that has traditionally been dominated by PSC, CiU and now Junts and ERC. "With his career and dedication, he became a relevant figure in local politics and contributed to the development of Pontons for a long period of time," laments the City Council, which specifies that the burial will be this Saturday at noon. In the municipality he chained five peaceful mandates, but outside he made some controversial statements about independence and homosexuality.

"A good person, cultured and very simple, his life was his town and he was loved by everyone," the current mayor, also a popular and his disciple, Josep Tutusaus, assures ARA, who comments that he has received a lot of affection from the surrounding towns, with a wave of expressions of condolences. "In Pontons the PP only wins in the municipal elections, it never wins in other elections," he says to explain how Caldentey instilled an attitude exclusively "focused on the town" and that he has since wanted to maintain. "As mayor he never spoke about [state] politics, it didn't interest him much, only the town," explains Tutusáus. This is confirmed by the leader of the opposition, Lluís Escardó, from Junts, who maintains that "national politics didn't interest him" and that "he only cared about the town." "He was quite a character, he had good and bad things, but he took the town hall in a professional manner, he was there and made himself known and he looked for the best for the town." Escardó, who has been a councillor for 18 years, was part of the Caldentey government team, but left with the 9-N, when the mayor did not allow people to vote and they "got angry". However, "in the end he reached an agreement with the regional council to put a bus so that people could go to vote in Torrelles de Foix".

Caldentey, who was born in 1941, worked as an engineer in various companies such as Braun or Condiesel, and his political influence was only in Pontons and in the Regional Council of Alt Penedès. Personally, married with two children, he always lived linked to Pontons, but in the last years of his life he became ill and moved to Barcelona. His family was all from the small town of Penedès, although his father was adopted by Pontons because he came from Mallorca. Always involved in the life of the town, he participated in festival committees until he became mayor, which marked his life.

Throughout his political career he never held any position within the Catalan PP and only formed part of the board of directors "because the statutes say so", but without taking part in Catalan or Spanish politics. "He was a very upright and very Catalan man, who felt Spanish, he had deep convictions," says Tutusáus. Caldentey had the habit of making "personal" politics, "with names and surnames" and contact on a one-to-one basis: he always carried a piece of paper and a pen about whatever might be. His maxim was "not to have an ego" and to listen to all the neighbours, according to the current mayor, which led him to govern for 19 years and allowed his disciple, Tutusáus, to extend his reign. "I appreciated her, I was in tune with her on some things and I told her off on others," adds Escardó, who comments on how in some clashes with neighbours that Caldentey ended up "compromising."

Controversies

Although he did not speak about Spanish or Catalan politics and managed to win the votes of the town's nationalists and progressives – otherwise, his results would not be understood – he did make some controversial statements, beyond local politics. Caldentey said that homosexuals were "retarded people" who had been born with a "psychological or physical deformity" – he opposed gay marriage – and later said that the rainbow flag was "as illegal as the estelada". Following the departure of former president Carles Puigdemont from Brussels after the declaration of the Catalan Republic from the Parliament, the former mayor accused the president of the Generalitat of having "abandoned" Catalonia and called him a "rat". "When a ship takes on water, the first to abandon it are the rats," he said.