Pueyo stumbles in Lleida and the socialist Larrosa prevails comfortably

The socialist Fèlix Larrosa won the municipal elections in Lleida by winning the PSC, with a vote of 99.19%, nine councillors, two more than in 2019 in a day in which the republican, Miquel Pueyo was the great defeated when going from seven to five councilors and remain as the third force, behind Xavi Palau’s PP, which also achieved five councilors, the same as Junts, the other government party, headed by Toni Postius. In his first statements, Pueyo congratulated “the PSC and the PP on his results” and said that he was concerned about “the entry into the Vox Paeria.”

The voters punished ERC and Junts, the two parties that govern the Paeria. The Socialists who until 2019 had governed for practically 40 years, will only be able to form a government with a two-year hiatus (1987 and 1989). “We want to govern for the whole world”, were Larrosa’s first words when he found out he was the winner. Mayor nine months before the 2019 elections, he took over from Àngel Ros, added an absolute majority with ERC, with PP and with Junts. The City Council has 27 councilors, the majority are fourteen. In the campaign, he recalled that the socialists when they governed reached specific agreements with any formation such as Junts, CiU, PP, Ciudadanos and PDeCAT and he likes the Danish Borgen series in which distant parties agree on governments.

The Comú de Lleida, headed by Laura Bergés, got a councilor, it had two, but the PP was the big winner of the day, ranking second in the Paeria while the extreme right of VOX, led by Gloria Rico, got two councilors. On the other hand, neither the CUP, nor Ciudadanos, nor Valents, the party headed by Ángeles Ribes (in 2019 headliner of Ciudadanos) and Activem Lleida did not get representation.

The Republicans lose their majority in the Lleida Provincial Council, chaired by the Republican Joan Talarn who also governs with Junts. The distribution by judicial districts gives the best results to Junts than to ERC, so even if the pact were revalidated, Junts would be in a better position to preside over it.

In Tàrrega, Rosa Maria Perelló (Junts) prevailed with nine councilors, one more than four years ago, when the pacts gave the mayoralty to Alba Pijuan (ERC). In Vielha, Unitat d’Aran, the party of the Aranese socialists was the force with the most votes with nine councilors, one less than four years ago and in Mollerussa the pacts will determine the mayoralty.