ERC and PSC meet again for the mayoralty of Tarragona four years later. The Socialists appear in the elections with a renewed list and with the former leader of Ciutadans, Rubén Viñuales, as a candidate. They hope to win the municipal elections again for the fifth time in a row, despite not having Josep Fèlix Ballesteros.
For his part, Pau Ricomà repeats as head of ERC with the desire to remain at the head of the municipal government and stop the return of the PSC. The various crises of the last term, such as the annulment of the POUM or the disputes over the new garbage contract, among others, could take their toll on the Republicans, who argue that these obstacles have served to promote “change” in the city.
The PSC of Josep Fèlix Ballesteros won the 2019 municipal elections by 464 more votes than the ERC of Pau Ricomà . Despite the tie for councilors – seven each -, Ricomà agreed, at first, with En Comú Podem Tarragona (ECP) and, two years later, with Junts per Tarragona and the CUP. In this way, he was able to oust Ballesteros, mayor of the city during the three previous consecutive terms.
Four years later, Ricomà repeats as mayor of ERC in the elections of May 28, 2023 with the desire to continue governing the city. In fact, he is the only 2019 candidate who remains at the helm of the same formation. The Republicans also do not rule out agreeing again with the “left” parties to prevent “the right” from governing. In the case of revalidating the mayoralty, those of Pau Ricomà are clear that they will bet on executing the set of projects started during this term, as well as “continuing to unite the city and do it in a sustainable way”.
For his part, Rubén Viñuales also heads a list for the third time in a row, but not from the party itself. While in the 2019 elections he was the leader of Ciutadans -where he came in third position-, this time he replaces Josep Fèlix Ballesteros at the head of the PSC. In fact, he already became the number two socialist in the city in the 2021 Catalan elections. The current leader of the PSC in Tarragona believes that this party movement and the Ballesteros march will not harm them, but could benefit them – los, because “changes are always good”.
In this new stage, the socialists claim to base their proposals on technology, talent, tourism and the energy transition. For this, Viñuales will have a renewed team, which includes the incorporation of the director of Port Ciutat, Montse Adán, and the Agbar executive, Isabel Mascaró, among others. In the case of a possible pact, Viñuales makes it clear that they will flee from extremes, in reference to parties like Vox and the CUP, and that they will not agree with ERC either, since they consider that the republican team in Tarragona “has closed many bridges during the last years.
Viñuales was not the only one who resigned in 2020 as a Ciudadanos councilor in the Tarragona City Council. A few weeks later, Sonia Orts and José LuÃs Calderón announced that they were leaving the militancy and were becoming non-members. At that time, the orange formation was left with half the councilors -two- and Lorena de la Fuente entered the consistory to replace the head of the list and become spokesperson for the party. A leadership that she hopes to maintain, at least, until 2027.
De la Fuente is presented as a candidate for the formation with the desire to recover and maintain the four initial councilors that the party achieved in 2019. The oranges hope to access, for the first time, the municipal government of Tarragona and do not rule out agreeing with those parties that adjust to their ideas and projects for the city, “leaving political ideologies aside”.
For its part, the PP recovers Maria Mercè Martorell, who was a councilor for the Tarragona City Council between 1995 and 2007, when she resigned from the party due to “disagreements”. Sixteen years later she returned to lead the popular in the city. She does it with the will to fight against what she considers to be a “left, dirty and insecure Tarragona”. Martorell trusts that the popular ones will once again form part of the government team. They ensure that the axes of their electoral program are based on security – linked to the issue of occupation -, heritage as the engine of the city, street cleaning and the arrangement of public spaces.
Together for Catalonia also recovers a history of municipal politics in Tarragona. Jordi Sendra returns after a decade and with a very different panorama from the one he left behind. The post-convergent space must be shared, finally, with Sà Tarragona-Ara Pacte Local, the municipalist platform created from the PDeCAT. This will be headed by Mar Giné, who is running as the only candidate at the head of a 100% municipalist party and unrelated to political ideologies.
In Comú Podem it hopes to expand its representation in the Tarragona City Council and not repeat the various internal disputes that took place during this last term. Jordi Collado heads a “strong and united” list and does not rule out agreeing with the left-wing parties. Among them, the CUP that, after two years in the municipal government, is running for the 28-M elections with a list led by Eva Miguel. The CUP candidate is proud of the work carried out during the last half term, especially in regard to projects related to housing.
Apart from these eight formations, the citizens of Tarragona will also be able to choose between five more parties in the elections on May 28. These are Vox, Partit Comunista dels Treballadors de Catalunya (PCTC), Escons en blanc, Convergents i Valents. Of these, only Vox repeats, who in 2019 obtained 1,681 votes. In fact, they remained in 1,880 of the PP, which entered the City Council with two councilors. Francisco Javier Gómez heads the list.
The remaining four games will premiere in 2023 in the city. Albert Sabaté leads the PCTC, while José LuÃs Calabuig is the candidate of Consons en blank; Manuel Andrés MarÃn from Convergents and Roberto Hernández from Valents.
