Why is ERC willing to approve the budgets in Albiol's PP?

BarcelonaXavier García Albiol has governed with an absolute majority for two years, having garnered enough votes to prevent opposition forces from presenting an alternative government. In fact, the left has been unable to find a way to weaken the PP mayor, and since he has governed Badalona unopposed, opposition groups have been scrambling to find a strategy to gain visibility and, by extension, try to dismantle Albiol's project. Although the PP-led municipal government does not need the support of any other group to pass the budget, in the last two years It was the PSC who negotiated and approved the budgets of the Popular Party mayorHowever, this year the Socialists have closed the door, and now it is ERC who have opened the door to discussing the 2026 budget. The Republicans' outstretched hand is not new; they had already offered it in the last two years, but the Popular Party mayor had not approached them. Why are the Republicans opting to negotiate with Albiol, with whom they are politically diametrically opposed?

"Everyone against Albiol is useless," points out the ERC leader in Badalona, ​​Àlex Montornès, in statements to ARA, who argues that their strategy involves making proposals to be "useful to the citizens" of Badalona. In this sense, Montornès presented three non-negotiable conditions this Wednesday that Albiol should accept if he wants their support for the budget: protecting the Ca l'Arnús park from Albiol's intention to build apartments on part of the grounds; To finalize the transfer of land for the Sant Crist Primary Care Center (CAP) and to promote equal pay for Badalona Comunicació employees. These last two proposals shouldn't be included in the budget, but Albiol should make gestures to show he wants to move forward.

"We shouldn't stop Xavier García Albiol; the citizens should. In ERC, it's our job to present proposals, but that doesn't prevent us from continuing to mount a strong opposition," argues Montornès. The Republican councilor explains that the party has engaged in self-criticism regarding the results of the May 2023 municipal elections, in which the party lost one councilor compared to 2019, when it ran in coalition with Guanyem: the coalition, overall, lost five councilors. In this sense, he believes that his role now is "to explain what we at ERC want to do" for the city. Montornès points out that talking to Albiol doesn't mean "agreeing" with his project. In fact, Esquerra has always been very critical of the Popular Party mayor, especially for his anti-immigration policies. With the entry of Najat Driouech into the Catalan Parliament, when Albiol still held a seat, Esquerra presented her as the face of the fight against the current mayor of Badalona. Be that as it may, ERC's strategy in Badalona has the backing of the national leadership. "He doesn't negotiate, he plays politics," say sources within the Republican leadership, of which Montornès is also a member. The Republicans already abstained in the initial approval of the budget in the plenary session on December 3rd, as they did in the last two years, when they ultimately voted against the budget. The difference now is that Xavier García Albiol accepted ERC's offer: that the Republicans submit three proposals to be incorporated into his budget. The group led by Montornès in the Badalona city council has submitted 13 objections to the budget, but would approve it if Albiol accepts the three conditions the councilor made public this Wednesday.

Albiol's thanks and response

Albiol publicly thanked ERC for abstaining in the initial budget approval, in a message that highlighted his absolute majority but also emphasized his willingness to negotiate with parties like ERC. The message raised concerns among some ERC members critical of the party leadership, according to sources, who also questioned the party's willingness to talk with Albiol. The mayor has often been labeled as far-right by ERC officials. Shunning the PP's label, Albiol has been cultivating his own image for some time, guaranteeing that he can even attract pro-independence voters to his project. "Badalonismo" was the slogan he used in the last election campaign.

Will Avibiol accept ERC's conditions? When contacted by this newspaper, the municipal government again expressed its gratitude for the Republicans' willingness to negotiate, but sources consulted resorted to irony to dismiss their demands: "The willingness to incorporate improvements for the city is always welcome, especially when they come in such an ambitious volume that it might even lead one to think Badalona has a budget."

In this regard, they assert that most of the demands "far exceed the actual execution capacity of the municipal budget for 2026" and include "million-euro expropriations," referring to the expropriation of COVESA to protect the Ca l'Arnús park, for which the Republicans are the ones pushing for it; and also "multiple newly created aid programs," responding to ERC's proposal to create various rental assistance programs, for example. "Adopting the entire package presented would require an increase in resources that neither current regulations nor the City Council's financial reality allow," the same sources point out, adding that "it's healthy to keep political imagination alive, even if the budget, stubborn as it usually is, doesn't always cooperate." Regarding the Sant Crist Primary Care Center (CAP), the municipal government admits that they share the proposal with ERC and that it is already being processed in coordination with the Catalan Government. They also support the salary equalization for Badalona Comunicació, but ask the Republicans to lead it through the Badalona Comunicació Board of Directors and remind them that "it does not comply with current legislation."