The constituent assembly of the Barcelona Provincial Council is the next hot potato on the Catalan political calendar. It will coincide with the general election campaign on July 23, an appointment that can complicate and alter the normal course of post-election negotiations, also marked by the hangover from the constitution of the town councils on Saturday.
The PSC urges Junts to make a decision and clarify whether it is prepared to re-edit the pact between socialists and post-convergents from the previous term, but at JxCat the debate remains open and there is no rush to make a decision. The party executive did not meet this week and is expected to meet next Monday, but even then it may not leave the matter closed.
Today is the deadline to choose the councilors who will take part in the supra-municipal body and the desire of Junts management is also to hear their opinion before leaning towards one option or another, although the rejection of the agreement has been gaining points in recent days.
In the post-convergent group of the organization, 7 to 12 members will spend this term of office, of which 4 are from the city of Barcelona: Neus Munté, Victòria Alsina, Joan Rodríguez and Francina Vila. The maneuver of Jaume Collboni (PSC) at the weekend still hurts JxCat, who was left without the mayor of the Catalan capital, the jewel in the crown in the municipal elections, at the last moment, when Xavier Trias already he was seen again with the baton. But it should be borne in mind that the impact of the Provincial Council is particularly relevant in small municipalities, far from Barcelona, ??due to the ability to grant subsidies and aid to councils that have fewer resources.
For this reason, after the PSC and ERC pact for the deputations of Lleida and Tarragona, there is some concern among local officials and mayors of Jordi Turull’s training. They consider that a pact should be concluded to be part of the government of the supra-municipal corporation. Trias already spoke out in favor of the understanding with the Socialists just a few hours after the disappointment in Barcelona, ??and asked his party to be “intelligent”, despite the anger. Despite this, there is debate in Junts and there are even pragmatic cadres who are advocating not to close an agreement with those from Salvador Illa this time. It is not just a pulse to be used between the two souls of the formation.
At the JxCat headquarters, they fear that an agreement with the PSC will cloud the campaign of the generals and dismantle their story now that they aspire to go in front of ERC once again, as in the municipal elections, and to consolidate an upward trend.
The pact seemed to be on track a few days ago, pending what would happen in the Catalan capital, but Collboni’s understanding with the communes and the PP to unseat Trias altered any forecast. “If the decision were to be adopted a few months from now, everything would be different”, reason sources from the training. “Now everything is very recent”, add these consulted sources.
Meanwhile, the PSC warns that it will look for other alliances to increase the pressure on JxCat. Although ERC assures that it will not support those from Illa in the Diputació de Barcelona – it has agreed with those from Lleida and Tarragona along with Junts -, the parliamentary spokesperson of the Socialists, Alícia Romero, affirmed yesterday that they will also negotiate with the republicans and with the commons, although he reiterated that his priority is to repeat the pact with the post-convergents. Romero is not the first to pronounce in this line. Other leaders of his party have also done it this week; in the PSC they do not understand the position of JxCat, especially when they have agreed with other local bodies.
