A wedding, a martyrdom and the pre-campaign: La Mercè kicks off
The parties give the starting shot to the pre-campaign of the municipals in Barcelona
BarcelonaLa Mercè began this Wednesday with a marriage proposal, and has continued this Thursday with various calls to renew vows. If at the Palau de la Virreina it was one of the Eagle bearers who took advantage of the start of the festival to ask their partner to marry them, at the City Hall the traditional procession of authorities culminated in the no less traditional starting gun for the pre-campaign for the municipal elections in May. Because the Virgin of Mercy may have been able in her day to end the plague of locusts that the city was suffering from, but it does not seem that she can do anything against the avalanche of electoral slogans that awaits the people of Barcelona.
In the Saló de Cent, some slogans and the first appeals for the useful vote have already been heard ahead of an appointment with the polls for which there are still eight months left. The survey published this Thursday by El Periódico has contributed to this, drawing a more fragmented hemicycle in which the mayor, Jaume Collboni, seems to have the best cards to revalidate his position. According to the poll, the PSC would win the elections with between nine and ten councilors, and it would be frankly complicated to articulate an alternative majority that could take away the mayor's staff. "The only solid option that the progressivism and democracy of this city has is the project of Jaume Collboni," declared councilor Marta Villanueva, who put on the table another of the slogans that will be heard in the coming months: the risk of the rise of the extreme right.
The same poll points to growth for Vox – which would go from the two councilors it currently has to between three and four – and, above all, a strong emergence of Aliança Catalana. Sílvia Orriols' party would enter the capital with between five and six councilors, a result identical to that which the poll forecasts for both Junts and Comuns. These two parties would be the big losers after having been the first and third force four years ago with 11 and 9 councilors, respectively. This Thursday, both groups tried to relativize the results of the survey, remarking that the citizenry gives Collboni's management a failing grade of 4.8 and were confident of turning the trend around before the month of May.
"The main poll is the one on election day. That is the one that counts and the one we normally win," said the mayoral candidate for Junts, Jordi Martí Galbis, who even predicted that this would be "the last Mercè with Collboni as mayor." The spokesperson for Barcelona en Comú, Marc Serra, also gave an optimistic reading of the poll, noting that it was more favorable to his group than the last municipal barometer and highlighting that the left – to which is added a CUP that could return to the city council with two or three councilors – is the majority. "Barcelona can and must be governed by a progressive majority, which Collboni has mistreated for the last three years," he defended.
Who, on the other hand, sees the polls smiling upon them lately in the capital is ERC. Their leader in the city, Elisenda Alamany, has boasted of being the one who "has made a better reading of what the city needs" and has known how to provide "useful answers." "We are going all out because we are the only alternative to Collboni that can generate progressive hope in our city," she assured, and stressed that she is not running "to make deals with I don't know who" but "to win." From the PP, Daniel Sirera was quick to deny this "alternative" banner to ERC and, with another campaign classic, waved the specter of the tripartite to set himself up as the only one who can avoid this progressive majority.
The party overflows the street
While inside the City Hall the electoral brawl was already being glimpsed, outside, the joy of La Mercè was overflowing the streets. The usual ones—such as a Plaça Sant Jaume packed to the rafters to see the Eagle Dance and the City Giants or the human tower festival—and those debuting for the first time, such as the remodeled Parc de les Glòries. In its debut as a stage for La Mercè, it has had a resounding success with the public, which made it difficult at times to even be able to see the theater and circus shows that were held there.
In Glòries, as in the rest of the city, the other protagonist has been a heat that seems set to become increasingly common for these dates. If in the past the tradition was for it to rain during La Mercè because, according to the legend, Saint Eulalia was crying, it now seems that the co-patron saint of Barcelona has opted for another type of revenge that involves making us relive one of her 13 martyrdoms: the obligation of standing over a lit brazier. A heat that was also suffered by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella, who in his last La Mercè mass before leaving office saw how, on two occasions, the fans caused the power to go out in the Basilica of La Mercè.