The government of Mayor Jaume Collboni proposes to negotiate with the different municipal groups of the opposition the modification of the obligation to dedicate 30% of each new promotion to social housing after the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia are held on 12 may The socialists trust that then the political landscape will be completely clear and that relations between councilors will return to their daily normality.
In addition, this amendment has such a political character that the municipal government is not clear whether it is authorized to present it during these hectic weeks without skipping the legal restrictions of electoral periods. At least this is deduced after listening to yesterday’s presentation of the Municipal Action Plan (PAM) for the remainder of the mandate, the supposed roadmap of the Barcelona City Council for the next three years and beyond.
And most of the opposition is not ready to let pass the opportunity to re-underline the loneliness of the socialists and to scratch some counterpart. Everything points to the fact that the opposition will reject the Socialists’ road map in the initial vote that will take place tomorrow at the Municipal Commission of the Presidency. Junts and PP already announced yesterday afternoon that they will vote no, and the commons will very hardly support a document that questions the 30% rule. The Republicans have not yet decided their vote, but they seem to be the only ones willing to consider a yes.
“We will vote against it – said Jordi Martí, from Junts – because this PAM has in no way been agreed upon. We haven’t held a single meeting. In addition, we believe that it promotes a model that perpetuates the city of recent years”. “They presented it late and badly – they intervened from the group of the commons -, without a period of sufficient participation and without allocating resources to key policies, such as developing more green axes, connecting the tram, the municipal dentist, continuing with a 30 % or limit the massification of tourism in our city. We will ask for the extension of the participation process, as already requested by city entities, and we will decide our vote based on their response”.
This time the breakdown of the initiatives was carried out by Laia Bonet, deputy mayor of Urbanism, and it turned out to be as ambiguous as it usually is, regardless of the color of the current government. The presentation of the PAM is still a voluntary declaration of intentions which in the end raises new doubts. In addition, the meager base of just ten councilors that supports Mayor Collboni’s government further slows down the action of the Consistory and forces it to turn every step into another currency.
It is not yet clear what will happen with the second phase of the union of the two tram lines through Avinguda Diagonal, what will be the future of this project once the ongoing works on the Trambesòs are finished, when the new finally arrive in Verdaguer. For months now, from time to time Mayor Collboni himself has been letting it slip that this flagship project of the two mandates led by ex-mayor Ada Colau will be carried out, the only thing missing is that the relevant executive project will be ready at the beginning of summer, but that we will see when the works are tendered, that the Eixample district cannot be burdened with so many works of such importance, that these streets need to breathe, that if the new phase of the union of the two lines takes place during nothing happens next term either…
Colau and his globetrotters who question his legacy tend to get a bad rap. They do not like that the socialists do not prioritize this project. And Deputy Mayor Bonet added a little more suspense to the issue yesterday and did not rule out that there is a possibility that these works will begin during the current mandate. “When we have the executive project of the new phase we will see when is the best time to start the works and we will establish the calendar”. That is why the terms used by the deputy mayor to refer to what will be one of the most controversial initiatives of the municipal government suddenly seemed unusually clear and meridian. In fact, the executive of Jaume Collboni is determined to change as soon as possible the obligation to dedicate 30% of each development to social housing.
We are talking about a modification, not a repeal, to raise other possibilities, such as financially compensating the local administration or erecting the corresponding social floors in another place. Despite this, the Barcelona real estate sector is anxiously waiting to learn the details of this modification as soon as possible. Not a few promoters consider that the 30% rule is a corset that stifles their activity and that, on top of that, it hardly served to increase the public housing stock.
Meanwhile, for some time now, the commons have been maneuvering to get the Collboni executive to change his mind and not touch what they consider a fundamental tool. The modification of this rule may end up deteriorating relations between socialists and communes. Everything points to the fact that in this matter Collboni will have to seek the support of Junts. For weeks, Xavier Trias has been stressing that the mayor does not inspire him with the slightest confidence, and his people have already announced that they will vote against the PAM, but…
The PAM is an indicative roadmap that does not entail any legal obligation. But the municipal executive also knows how to keep his aces up his sleeve, and if the opposition finally refuses to overturn his roadmap, he will answer that with their tricks the groups are not doing anything other than slowing down the process participative process that must culminate in the preparation of this PAM. The truth is that the significance of this participatory process is not very clear, but as a political reproach to the opposition it will look very good.
