Jaume Collboni reaches 100 days as mayor of Barcelona tomorrow. His investiture in extremis has given way to the beginning of a term in which he has wanted to demonstrate a change in the City Council, while working to re-edit the tripartite agreement with BComú and ERC.
How do you rate these first 100 days?
A remarkable With all the humility and effort of a team of magnificent people who accompany me. The three priorities were very clear: order, giving opportunities and regaining pride. And that the government had to go to work, despite the arithmetic. We can be quite happy, without arrogance, with a lot of humility, being very aware that the level of demand from citizens on issues such as public space and security is very high and we had to give quick answers.
He wanted it to be noticed that there was a new mayor. Did the previous one do so badly?
There was a clear and forceful demand from the public that basic everyday issues had to be fixed or corrected. Cleanliness and safety always came up in the surveys as issues of greatest concern. And I always said that I would make the concerns of the people of Barcelona my main occupation. For this reason, the first thing we did was tidy up the city with an extraordinary plan that must be developed in six or ten months depending on the results and which is starting to bear fruit. We have also strengthened the police presence to enforce the ordinances and ensure that activity in public spaces is legal. The great pending subject that I am determined to work on from January is civility and the need that, once the City Council has done its part, it is up to the whole of the citizenry to make this new stage with respect to public space their own and recover civility as a sign of identity for the people of Barcelona. It should not be seen as an imposition or repression, but as a sign of civility, of solidarity and of sharing what is common. In this sense, then, war on incivility and war on the uncivil.
Will there be more penalties?
More punishment and awareness of the amount of money it costs the city. We spend a million euros a day on cleaning. It is a matter of consensus and the commissions have so far come up with several proposals to make city pacts. This is what Barcelona needs. Great chords and dialogue. Because what is revolutionary today in politics is dialogue and agreement. As mayor I want to create the conditions, the spaces, the spirit of the city, so that dialogue, agreement, understanding and consensus are once again a daily reality in our city, because it is the spirit of the coexistence
Will this willingness to agree translate into a stable government pact? With who?
My commitment is to ensure that the city has budgets so that the city does not stop and to achieve the stability of the institution. We are working to allow the processing of the budget in the Economy committee on October 1. I have been invested mostly by a left-wing party (BComú) and the tradition of my party and the mayors who have governed the city has been to form progressive coalitions that have produced excellent results. There is a majority mandate in the city: 24 councilors (PSC, BComú and ERC) who have voted for progressive options. Therefore, in the first instance, my will is to articulate this progressive majority and in no case exclude the other great party that is Junts to guarantee governability or to reach great agreements. It won’t stay for us.
But Ada Colau and Xavier Trias have told him that one or the other and the discarded one will go to the opposition.
There are parties that self-exclude each other. I can understand it when it comes to a government agreement, but I would not understand it when talking about specific things, such as large priority investments in public transport or housing on which I am convinced that all groups will agree. It is also the mayor’s job to do that. I do not give up this revolutionary idea of ??dialogue with everyone, except the extreme right, and seek great city agreements. This dynamic should permeate all politics in Catalonia and Spain.
What will he say to the people who wanted a change when he includes the ex-mayor in his government?
There has been a change because we have a new mayor. The change has been perceived in the public space. The change is noticeable in the normalization of institutional relations in all areas, with the Government of the Generalitat, with the Parliament of Catalonia, with the Government of Spain, with the Head of State. In favor of the city. I feel like everybody’s mayor, whether they voted for me or not.
What did he ask the King?
Entering a stage of institutional normality is good news. I have to be discreet about the conversations, but I think that the head of state can have a function that benefits the city. It can help us in specific things and I hope so.
I ask him again about what he will say to voters who may feel let down if he brings the Commons into government.
That we will have the key to governance. We started by tidying up the public space, to provide more security, to guarantee access to housing as a formula to promote equal opportunities as well as our commitment to the fight against climate change. And, obviously, if the government is expanded, proposals, sensitivities and ideas will have to be incorporated, because that’s what coalitions are. But, in what is essential, we are showing the cards of where the city government will go. And, above all, I think that no one who voted for us did so to go against anyone. And we will keep it that way. We are not here to govern against anyone or against any party, nor to make an amendment to the entirety of Ms. Colau’s stage.
You disagree with Colau on aspects such as the expansion of the airport, the brake on new green roads or the management of tourism. Will he give in on these issues in exchange for the entry of the commons into the government?
My positions on these issues are clear. Another thing is how we reconcile it with an eventual coalition. In fact, we were in coalition and we have different positions. And this, with a coalition within a mature democratic system, happens.
In the matters mentioned, it seems that his theses are closer to those defended by Xavier Trias.
That is why I say that I cannot rule out important agreements with Junts, because we actually have more in common with some of these points. And, for this reason, I do not close myself to agreements with Junts.
Nor does it close to a government pact with Trias?
I don’t rule it out. We’ll see how things evolve. But our aspiration and priority is to articulate a leftist and progressive government.
And if Colau gives him a pumpkin, will he seek the support of Trias?
We’ll see, I hope that’s not the case. Although I think there are things we must also agree with Junts.
Will we see the government agreement in Barcelona before finally approving the budgets?
We are in no rush because we want to do things right. It is not a strategic delay, but it has to do with thinking things through, so that everyone knows what role they want to play and what they have to play and, in this sense, an agreement of this nature is not improvised. Mrs. Colau ruled alone for a year during her first term. My first wish is to articulate a progressive majority. It’s not that it depends on 2 (PSC-BComú), it’s that it depends on 3 (ERC) and everyone has their own points of view and their rhythms. But I am optimistic about what we can achieve. when? We’ll see.
The Commons criticize decisions he has taken that reverse actions of the previous government, such as the painted area of ??Carrer Pelai. Are you afraid that conditions will be placed on him to enter the government that contradict his project?
I don’t know because we haven’t started yet, we haven’t reached that point. But the votes and declarations made by all the groups, including the Commons, have been rather understanding and conciliatory. Obviously, we have taken some action, like that of Pelai, because it had lost its original meaning, but we also defend the non-reversion of the council of one hundred, which could have been done better. There will be changes and priorities that will change, but understanding is possible.
Does it end the stage of tactical urbanism?
Tactical urbanism is not urbanism. Urban planning is transformation, it is expressing with a new arrangement of public space principles and values ??that must be linked to having a more livable city, a city with easier mobility, a decarbonized city that is moving towards decarbonization. Tactical actions that are carried out on a case-by-case basis are not urban planning.
