The socialist Jaume Collboni tries to speed up his last chances of winning the mayoralty of Barcelona. Central government ministers press with a tweet. Ada Colau's future seems more uncertain every day. On top of that, the PP lets itself be loved...
And meanwhile, Xavier Trias cooks the next government of Barcelona the old-fashioned way, over low heat, making chup, chup... The winner of these municipal elections has been holding talks with his main rivals for days, but right now the most advanced he has them with Ernest Maragall. Those of Junts do not hide it. They seem much more comfortable with ERC than with PSC. Collboni's contacts with the PP definitively distance him from the pro-sovereignty forces. Junts and ERC see them as an unnatural maneuver that impoverishes political life. Suddenly sociovergence appears more improbable than ever. In addition, the Republicans do not forget the role that Collboni played four years ago, in that Valls operation, and they wait for Trias to take the next step, to turn the talks into negotiations, to put a concrete government proposal on the table. The offer could make Republicans rethink their vote in the investiture session.
But Trias is in no rush. The alignment of the planets that separates him from the mayor's office seems very complicated, but the noise raised around this possibility seems more deafening every time. The proximity of the general elections is making conversations rarer that in other conditions would flow more naturally. So step by step, Trias and his people understand, slow fire and chup, chup. Trias's objective is to be invested as mayor with the greatest possible support, and then form a government that is as stable and autonomous as possible. And if for that it is convenient to wait...
Collboni is throwing all the meat on the grill. He has no other alternative. Faced with the reluctance of the ERC to set up a left-wing tripartite, the socialist seeks the support of the PP. In Madrid, members of the Spanish government try to rescue the threat of the procés and warn of the dangers of leaving Barcelona in the hands of so many independentistas, they try to show that Collboni's contacts with the PP are very adequate.
Yes, all this is reminiscent of that Valls operation. On top of that, the popular Daniel Sirera is not willing for Ada Colau to take advantage of his hypothetical support. Perhaps, with the mayor still far from Barcelona, and with a distribution of government responsibilities that leaves the commons in the background, the popular could consider this maneuver. Alberto Núñez Feijóo himself endorses Sirera's position.
And Collboni clings to the hope that circumstances will take Colau away from Barcelona. If finally Sumar, Podemos and the confluences of the left agree on a candidacy for the next generals, it would not be strange that Colau chose to get involved in Yolanda Díaz's project. They are the ordinary ones who the course of events is leaving more confused in the post-electoral conversations. After Friday's recount left everything as it was and frustrated the dream of a sorpasso for the Socialists, his room for maneuver was further reduced.
