Jordi Martí Galbis: "The positive legacies of Convergence must be maintained and updated"

The president of the Junts municipal group in the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Martí i Galbis (Barcelona, 1961), arrives at l'ARA at noon and confesses that he has not had lunch because his primary election schedule and his work as a councilor fill all his hours. His decision to challenge the leadership and run in the primaries has revolutionized the party.Do you feel responsible for primaries that the party didn't want because it preferred a consensus candidate?

— I would like to end up being the consensus candidate. I'll start from the end. But it's true, I took a step forward and perhaps unintentionally I have caused there to be primary elections, which I consider to be an opportunity for the party.

You are the leader of the municipal group, but you are not the official candidate.

— I don't think there will be official candidates. But obviously, we are people with different sensitivities or profiles. My step forward has a logic of continuity, of being the natural candidate of a team that already exists, first with Xavier Trias and then without him.

Did he regret Josep Rius's letter in which he renounced running in the primaries?

— It surprised me, because I didn't expect Josep Rius to exclude himself from the race, and I was predisposed to go to a primary election with him or whoever was necessary.

But the letter said that primaries were detrimental to the party...

— That letter contained some words in which I do not see myself identified nor do I feel alluded to, at all, and, therefore, it is a matter that is already past.

Did you communicate to your party leader, Carles Puigdemont, your intention to run in the primaries?

— Yes, let's see, the first thing I have to say is that, since always, I have had an excellent relationship with the party leadership, both with Carles Puigdemont and with Jordi Turull. And it is evident that, in recent times, I have had contacts, conversations and meetings with them. But they are private meetings and conversations.

Junts is an amalgam of sensibilities. Where would you place yourself? Would you be one of those who claim the heritage of Convergència?

— Not exactly. Convergència was a party I was a member of, which did very important things for the country, but which no longer exists. That doesn't mean I'm not a person who tries every day to take advantage of the positive legacy of Convergència. The good part of legacies must be maintained and updated. That said, I have been a member of Junts since day one. How do I consider myself? A person of order and progressive center.

Do you consider Aliança Catalana to be a far-right party?

— These parties are part of a new normality on a European and state level. There is an international wave of conservatism, especially right-wing extremism.

This is a party to which the polls give entry in Barcelona and that you will have to consider whether to agree with it or not.

— I always say that I don't believe polls, and for the moment they are not in Barcelona. And therefore I don't want to get ahead of myself. Are they from the extreme right? Well, they are quite extreme. And they have a language that is not ours. But we'll talk about it later.

A former colleague of his, Antoni Vives, states that Aliança is not Catalanist.

— I agree with Antoni Vives that parties that deny the possibility of a single people do not align with Junts' political philosophy, and that this principle is the common thread of traditional Catalanism.

If you become mayor, would you maintain the ban on tourist apartments?

— No, and I say it very clearly. We are not against the 10,000 legal tourist homes, which are an economically beneficial activity for the city. I would keep them, but I would not increase them.

Do you agree with the rent cap?

— With the current regulations in force, we do not agree because it is a legal mess. I believe that in housing a reset should be done. What is clear is that with these current legal frameworks, we will go from bad to worse.

Do you advocate, however, some degree of market intervention or absolute freedom in the Madrid style?

— The housing market has been regulated for a long time and should continue to be regulated, but not ad infinitum and so that small property owners cannot be calm or sure that they will be able to collect their rents and invest in maintenance.

Would it prohibit the purchase of entire blocks like the one explained in the series Ravalejar?

— Yes, I would. But things must be done legally, and therefore we must clearly define what is speculation and what is not.

Would you make more green axes? What do you think when you walk down Consell de Cent?

— Consell de Cent is fine, but what about Valencia or Mallorca street? This is not how it's done. Furthermore, these axes have court rulings against them that will have to be executed one day because they are illegal.

But if even the promoters of the lawsuit do not want to go back on the works...

— But they are asking for an agreement to execute the sentences. And we have been here for two years because when Mr. Collboni and Ms. Colau did these wonders, they did them badly.

Then you wouldn't make any more green axes?

— We committed to creating green interior blocks in the Eixample, which is a much more feasible and realistic option.

If you had to choose a star measure for your campaign, what would it be?

— I can tell you that the 5% reduction in IBI will be included in the electoral program at all costs and will be one of our banners.