The overwhelming result of an absolute majority of 18 councilors of Xavier García Albiol opens up new expectations in a Badalona with entangled problems that the new mayor hopes to solve by extending a hand to consensus with the rest of the political forces.
Political strategists will recommend their election campaign: erase ideologies…
Moving a campaign type to another city might not work. The main asset of the politician must be knowing how to read the reality of his city and interpret the concerns of his citizens.
Has it scratched socialist and pro-independence votes?
Yes. But it is certainly a borrowed vote, a vote of confidence in a clear city project that erases ideological borders. My party would do well to analyze this reading.
Safety is one of their priorities. That’s why the Guardia Urbana has to clean up?
It is true that the Urban Guard has a series of internal conflicts, but I am convinced that they will be put aside. The last year has been a forgotten body, with a non-existent councilor and the city has paid the consequences.
That a command union, which includes its superintendent, denounces a councilor is not a good sign.
This highlights the climate of conflict in the police. I have already spoken to those responsible and will meet with the unions to put the confrontation aside and work for the common good.
What initiatives will you promote to improve security?
I will reactivate the Omega Unit and it will act in conflict zones, such as at the exit of nightclubs at the weekend. We will incorporate video surveillance cameras and promote neighborhood guards. In the coming months we will launch a call to hire 60 or 70 more agents. We need more reaction in the streets.
Multi-recidivists and organized groups are heavily entrenched in certain neighborhoods, how will it affect them?
I will meet with the Minister of the Interior to reverse this situation. These criminal clans are an area of ??great concern to us and I am sure we will be able to turn it around.
Lately, sexual assaults on minors have caused numerous controversies. How do you rate a gypsy patriarch saying he will punish the aggressors by temporarily expelling them?
It is a surreal situation that someone can propose that there is a legality apart from that of the rule of law. This is not the model that will solve the problem. This Thursday I am meeting with the Minister of Social Rights and I hope to move from good words to deeds. It is clear that the victim protection protocols have not worked. I will ask you to intervene in three areas: social services, education and justice.
Cleanliness and civility are other pending subjects.
I will start negotiating changes with the awarded company before the new contract goes out to tender and we will activate mechanisms against incivility.
Will he create the council against illegal and conflictual occupations?
Yes. I have already appointed a councilor who will be in charge of this area, which we will provide financially and with human resources to make it work 24 hours a day. It will also offer advice. And the City Council will actively file complaints for the most conflicting occupations.
The situation of the City Council is also not optimal for starting a mandate.
The City Council is in a deadlock situation. There is a lack of professionals in the workforce, there is demotivation and disorganization. There are departments that do not have officials. An example: since November, licenses cannot be given because there is no lawyer. We are working to remedy this situation and be able to start working minimally well in a matter of months.
But the blockade of the City Council has not occurred in a single year.
It was Dolors Sabater’s government that dealt the fatal blow to the City Council. From that moment on, the situation has been deteriorating.
He has offered an outstretched hand to the opposition. Are you confident of reaching consensus?
The neighbors did not vote for me to criticize how they treated me previously. The opposition’s strategy has shown that it doesn’t work and in the end the neighbors have punished them. According to their speeches at the investiture plenary, they are eager to make crosses and stripes. Only Dolors Sabater seems fixated on insulting and disrespecting those who didn’t vote for her. Either he changes his attitude or he will remain in a completely marginal position.
