What day passes, any empeny. And so, the hundred days of the smallest municipal government in the recent history of Barcelona are about to come to an end. But the minority government (with ten of the 41 councilors) yesterday did not prevent Mayor Jaume Collboni from exhibiting muscle and ambition without the need to shore up any stable pact and "maximum capacity for dialogue." The mayor thanked ERC and Junts for the ability to reach consensus on “important issues” such as the reform of the civility ordinance and a great agreement on housing and did not mention BComú at any time during the appearance to review the first hundred days.
“A hundred days are many or few, depending on how you look at it; but we have very clear priorities,” insisted Collboni, flanked by the deputy mayors Albert Batlle, Laia Bonet and Eugenia Gay and excused the presence of Jordi Valls, who was chairing the Economy commission. The mayor began by reiterating the axis on which the decisions have revolved, that of the three “Os”: “of order, opportunities and the pride that we want to recover,” he stated.
“Sometimes to go further, you have to go slower, for projects that transcend the mandate, consensus beyond the municipal government is important,” said Collboni, who insisted on the mantra: “I am and will be a progressive mayor, with a progressive program, but for an agreement the other parties are needed; Now there are two more parties and it is not only up to my group to form the majority that I aspire to, and that does not exclude agreements with the main group of the City Council, which is Junts.” And the example, "today we have seen that some of the important actions have been launched at the initiative of the opposition, ERC and Junts."
After highlighting dialogue as the government's number one priority, Collboni referred to public space and Pla Endreça: “more cleaning brigades, more control, more inspections, more sanctions... we are the city that invests the most in cleaning in Spain and That can be seen on the street; "We sanction those who violate coexistence and fail to comply with the rules in public spaces." He referred to the 250 more Urban Police officers who will join the city in the coming days, to which must be added the 215 Mossos d'Esquadra of the new promotion who will also be assigned to Barcelona.
Regarding urban development, he insisted that the number one priority is Ciutat Vella. “We are working on the strategic urban and social regeneration plan with all entities,” he said. And he cited the acceleration of the works on the Rambla and those on Via Laietana as strategic actions for the transformation of the neighborhood.
The Plan de Barris 2025-2028 could not be missing from the hundred-day folder, “of which the first work has begun and the budget has been doubled, reaching 300 million”; the infrastructure advisory council "and the importance of major events, such as the Copa del América, the start of the Vuelta or soon the Picasso and Miró exhibition."
Not even when he referred to the School Climate Plan, the mayor cited his government partners, BComú, until a hundred days ago. Collboni recalled that the program to air-condition and install photovoltaic panels in the 170 educational centers in Barcelona will involve an investment of 100 million euros that will be financed with the tourist tax, with an average annual amount of 17 million.
Regarding the coverage of the Round, he announced that the tender for a first section will be approved in the urban planning commission in October and when asked about the urbanization of the Sant Antoni superblock he settled with “everything approved will go ahead.”
