The echo of the indignation and anger of Junts with the PSC for the Barcelona maneuver that deprived Xavier Trias of the mayorship at the last minute, with the contest of the commons and the PP, may not reach the Provincial Council of Barcelona, ??where socialists and post-convergents have gone arm in arm for the last four years, despite the controversy that their understanding sparked.
The Junts candidate in the Catalan capital yesterday did not rule out an agreement with the PSC in the supra-municipal body, despite being the main victim of the operation orchestrated by Jaume Collboni. “I am not against this pact”, assured Trias in statements to TV3 and RAC1. “That I am angry and indignant does not mean that we are not intelligent in life”, explained the post-convergent leader.
The Socialists, for their part, have always said that they are satisfied with how things have gone in the supra-municipal body so far and that they were in favor of re-editing the alliance. Although, with a clear majority, those from Salvador Illa can opt for various formulas to govern in this body, the first secretary of the PSC yesterday advocated not to review the “approaches and approaches” they have made so far with the post-convergents .
On the part of Junts, the decision will be taken by the management, which has not yet adopted any position. On Saturday morning, when everything seemed to indicate that they would lead the Barcelona government with ERC as an ally, the agreement with the Socialists seemed more than on track, but now there are doubts and the party’s executive wants to leave the issue closed this week.
The post-convergence mayors of Lleida and Tarragona, where Junts will not govern the supra-municipal bodies, are not happy with the situation in their territory, and if Junts is now left out of the executive of the Provincial Council in Barcelona, ??it could increase the list of discontented. In addition, the deputation is the third administration in Catalonia in terms of budget and provides institutional support.
On the other side of the scale is the story that is articulated for the general elections of July 23. Especially taking into account that the constituent assembly of the Provincial Council, on a date yet to be determined between July 10 and 14, coincides with the first week of the electoral campaign.
Either way, yesterday Trias opened the way for those who want the pact. The ex-mayor Convergent, who was not in favor of Junts leaving the Government in October of last year, believes that his party must be in governments whenever possible and “look for ways of collaboration so that the country goes come in”.
In addition, at all times Trias wanted to differentiate the figure of Collboni – “Everything he says is lies. He has not said a single thing that he has fulfilled because there are people who, quite simply, never tell the truth”, he said of him – of other socialist leaders such as Núria Marín, mayoress of l’Hospitalet de Llobregat and president of the supra-municipal body since 2019, or Antonio Balmón, mayor of Cornellà de Llobregat. Trias states that he “has great respect” for Marín because “he is a person who keeps his word”. De Balmón, with whom he met in the Metropolitan Area of ??Barcelona, ??speaks in similar terms. Despite this, Lluïsa Moret, mayoress of Sant Boi de Llobregat, is now being talked about to head the Provincial Council of Barcelona.
In Junts there was a certain fear due to the possibility that ERC would also try to agree with the socialists in the Diputació de Barcelona, ??as it has done in Tarragona and Lleida, but yesterday Oriol Junqueras ruled out this scenario and, in passing, asked Junts to do the same.
On Sunday, the formation of Jordi Turull and Laura Borràs held a meeting of the national council to analyze the results of the municipal ones and the management explained that the formation had been consolidated throughout the Catalan territory. However, in this appointment there was contented unrest among the leaders and some rum-rum about the post-election management and the pacts. There were those who questioned the negotiating strategy and the final result: ERC agrees with the PSC in the deputations of Lleida and Tarragona and together they are left out of the government of the Catalan capital and other important places. In fact, the only big city that will headline Junts is Sant Cugat del Vallès.
Despite the fact that a good result in the general elections of July 23 can give wings to a more or less triumphalist speech in Junts, in the intermediate cadres there is concern about the few levels of power achieved in the municipal and supra-municipal level for the next four years, a situation aggravated by the departure of the Government last year.
