The first to arrive is Anna Grau. The mayor of Ciutadans arrives at the agreed time: 9.50 am. Not a minute more, not a minute less. Hello. He laughs, although he’s not kidding: “And… What are we going to do? Because clearly…”. Candidates only know time and place. They don’t know if they should put their feet in the water and get wet, as happened for the cover four years ago – a mayor with a French accent didn’t like the idea at all –, jump on a mattress in the beautiful in the middle of the beach (in 2007) or sit on a beam at a more than respectable height (in the style of New York workers, but with Barcelona’s AVE under construction), as happened to the presidential candidates in the elections of the Generalitat in 2006. La Vanguardia established the tradition: day of reflection, cover photo.
After a moment, Eva Parera (Valents) arrives. At 9.54 am, Daniel Sirera (PP) greets. “What will we do?” Eva Parera suggests a photo on board the gigantic cruise ship moored next to the World Trade Center: “This is how we end the campaign!”, she laughs. You can’t let your guard down here even by thinking.
Today they will board the Consolat de Mar, the ship that has been ceded by the Port of Barcelona and is moored very close by. It is said to be the pioneering Catalan legal body that in the middle of the 13th century already regulated relations between merchants and that later spread in the form of maritime law throughout the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The management, with Jordi Juan at the helm, now greets Xavier Trias (Junts). Behind it appears Ernest Maragall (ERC), who had arrived earlier, but remained inside his vehicle typing on his mobile phone. At 10 o’clock Ada Colau (BComú) arrives. The entourage is already more than numerous, the atmosphere is relaxed, how did it go last night, what if they are resting, what if they will be with the family, what if the media has taken little of us, what if… But the minutes of courtesy are sold out and not all are there yet.
“What will we do?”. For now, wait a few more minutes, what a remedy. Today the punctuality is the same as during the campaign.
At last they are all here. It’s been almost half an hour since Grant Dalton, the captain of the New Zealand team and most responsible for the America’s Cup, is waiting at the Consulate of the Sea with the disputed and always guarded Cup of the Hundred Guineas, the coveted trophy of the sea . The municipal election will be counted in votes today, although in Plaça Sant Jaume winning may not mean governing.
