Collboni-Alamany meeting to certify that ERC will not enter the government
The mayor is preparing changes to the executive branch to complete his term alone.
BarcelonaSurprise meeting this Saturday at Barcelona City Hall. According to ARA, Mayor Jaume Collboni and the leader of the ERC party in the council, Elisenda Alamany, will meet this morning to certify that the possibility of the Republicans joining the municipal government no longer exists. This marks the end of one of the highlights of the Catalan capital's mandate, after almost a year ago the two reached a preliminary agreement to govern together, which ended in frustration due to the strong division this debate generated among the Republican base.
The meeting between Collboni and Alemany around 10:00 a.m. will serve to certify the amicable divorce of a marriage that never materialized. The victory of the critics at the ERC federation's congress in Barcelona was the final blow to a pact that had already been eroded by the passage of time. Even among those who a year ago favored entering the Catalan capital's government, there were doubts about the wisdom of maintaining that agreement with the midway point of the mandate just around the corner, and therefore with little room to give the executive the Republicans' stamp.
By publicly burying that preliminary agreement, Alamany is also trying to definitively defuse the internal debate within the Republicans. This Thursday, in fact, the party's new leadership in the Catalan capital also took a step in that direction with a letter to the membership signed by Cruz Camacho and Miquel Colomé, which shelved the consultation on whether or not to enter the government and instead advocated opening a collective process of reflection to define "the path to the municipal elections on the 2nd."
In addition to quelling the internal noise, Alamany thus avoids a consultation that, had it obtained a contrary result upon entering the government, could condition the Republicans' strategy in Barcelona in the next term. Despite not being part of the executive branch, this Saturday's meeting does not slam the door on the agreements between the ERC and PSC at City Hall. Both groups have reached several agreements during this term that have yet to be fully developed, and they do not rule out reaching new ones.
The realization of the impossibility of reaching an agreement with the Republicans this term also opens a new scenario for Collboni, who is on track to complete the entire term alone despite having the government with the fewest councilors in Barcelona's history, with only ten. A minority that, for now, has not allowed him to approve any budget through ordinary channels and with which he will have to face debates such as the reform of the 30% reserve for protected housing or the new coexistence ordinance.
New commissioners
Having accepted that he will have to complete his term as a sole governor, Collboni is already working on formulas to give his executive branch a new lease of life and plans to modify the municipal portfolio. Although the mayor is still outlining the scope of a reshuffle he is designing with secrecy, according to several sources consulted by ARA, the appointment of several new commissioners to strengthen the executive branch structure is on the table. Currently, there are nine.
Despite the limited room for change given by having only ten councilors, as he explained All of Barcelona Collboni is also considering making some changes to the district leadership. Here, attention has focused on David Escudé, the only councilor who leads two districts and who was censured by the district plenary session. However, municipal sources also point to the possibility of a replacement in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, where, according to the same sources, Maria Eugènia Gay "is not working."
Despite being one of the notable signings on Collboni's list in 2023—she was number two—the former Spanish government delegate in Catalonia doesn't have an easy path at City Hall. Nor does it have an easy path in the second deputy mayor's office for Social Rights, where she has failed to connect with the sector and has shifted some of the responsibility to the Commissioner for Social Action, Sònia Fuertes. Hence, municipal sources do not rule out the possibility that, in this quest to boost the government, Gay—who is also vice president of the Barcelona Provincial Council—could lose influence in the government. A role that, on the other hand, could be assumed by figures the PSC would like to strengthen, such as councilors Raquel Gil and Marta Villanueva.
