The pressure from Junts and BComú is already eroding Jaume Collboni's resistance. The mayor is now going to negotiate a government pact that will give stability to his executive. The opposition definitively rejected its proposal for tax ordinances in yesterday's ordinary plenary session. This is a considerable political setback, but also a relative one. If the mayor did not get enough support and was forced to extend this year's budget, his project would be in a complicated situation.
Nevertheless, Collboni feels capable, and also strong, to govern with only ten councilors, making an agreement with one or the other depending on the circumstances. But communes and post-convergents are determined to take advantage of the scarce base of the executive to assume government responsibilities, to see how their electoral programs influence the action of the City Council. The rejection of both in the tax ordinances illustrates this determination.
Yesterday's exam didn't go well for Collboni. The tax update proposal for 2024 was again rejected by the opposition a week after it received a resounding no in the Economy and Finance committee. These stumbles, which force the current rates and taxes to be maintained, made the mayor's loneliness very clear. Her next ordeal, that of the budget, could also end in suspense because the two main groups that could support her – Junts or BComú – link her to a government pact and even to her entry into the executive It's one or the other. The two forces are mutually exclusive. The Socialists would have an absolute majority with the formation of Xavier Trias, but not with that of Ada Colau. It would take ERC councilors to form a left-wing understanding, and the latter do not seem willing.
Faced with the risk of blocking the budget, Collboni decided to change screens. Now he is ready to tackle both, accounts and governance. In addition, the uncertain political situation beyond the City Council, with the investiture of Pedro Sánchez pending, advised the mayor not to move the file yet in the Casa Gran.
"We will continue to talk intensively with Junts and BComú, who have already publicly offered their willingness to make a government agreement, or a budget agreement, or a budget agreement and a government agreement", said Collboni in response to a question from the PP about who he wanted to agree the budget with. Sources from the mayor's office confirmed that the mayor is now willing to talk about accounts and governance at the same time, as requested by the Trias and Colau formations.
Earlier, in the debate on tax ordinances, this background was already expressed. Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economy, regretted that the proposal was wrecked and that its content was not evaluated because what really matters to BComú and Junts is to govern. "They make a political vote, they put pressure on the government because they want to enter," he said. And as far as the specific issue under debate is concerned, what the two formations raise is dichotomous since, added Valls, "some (those from Trias) want to lower the fiscal pressure, and the others (those from Colau), to raise the", while the socialists defend a freeze. He asked the former to end the "grieving" for not having won the mayor's office and he criticized the latter for their "overacting" and "sterile excitement", when in the previous mandate they governed in coalition with the PSC.
Valls recalled that the ordinances presented by the government did not increase the fiscal pressure on citizens, they had bonuses to the IAE to host companies or investments in the field of research and innovation and incorporated an agreement for the terrace fee with the Restoration Guild, which represents large companies and also many freelancers. The deputy mayor said that it was difficult for him to understand that, taking all this into account, they had been rejected.
After thanking the dialogue, the head of the economy added that the government will continue to talk to the groups. "We will open talks, nothing ends today, everything begins", said Valls a few hours before Collboni, at the end of the session, took a step further and opened himself up to negotiating governance as well. The test of the budget is more relevant than that of the ordinances since, still maintaining the rates and taxes in force - this will be the case since there is no possibility of approving others -, revenues will be greater in 2024 due to growth planned vegetation. Collboni had to withdraw his first proposal from the last Economic Commission to prevent it from being rejected like the tax ordinances. The mayor fears that this blockade will continue.
Together, BComú once again reproached Collboni for not wanting to agree and for taking the right path by presenting a proposal for ordinances without first seeking agreements. "They showed up without negotiating. They act as if they have an absolute majority. We are being asked for trust, that we will speak", lamented Ramon Tremosa, from Junts, who defended the need to lighten some tax figures, such as the IBI, with a 2% reduction, to benefit families at a time in which inflation narrows.
"This is the second phase of a government's failure. Today's vote must be read as a rebuke of the government", said Jordi Martí, spokesman for the commons, who insisted on the need for a left-wing pact, also with ERC. BComú already wanted to reprimand Collboni a few days ago for this plenum, but gave up given the lack of support from other groups, the confirmation of the agreement between PSOE and Sumar to govern Spain and pending a meeting of the mayor with Colau.
ERC was also very critical of Collboni. "The big challenges are not being addressed, we don't know what their model is", said Ernest Maragall, who regretted that the PSC "looks more to the right than the left" and tries to "sell the city in pieces" giving satisfaction to private interests.
Nor did Collboni get an endorsement for the terrace levy, which was voted on separately after the government struck a deal with the Restoration Guild that opened up new possibilities to move forward. The support of the PP and Vox in this matter was not enough. Until the beginning of the plenary, the meaning of the Junts vote, which was decisive, was not known. One abstention would have been enough to approve it. But the Trias group eventually said no.
In the corridors, Tremosa left the door open to look for some rate reduction. Since the government's proposal was not approved, from January 1, the 2019 one must be applied without the 75% bonuses for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 motivated by covid. The Junts councilor pointed out that a new bonus could be approved at an extraordinary meeting in November. Valls was open to exploring formulas that allow this. Collboni promised to study "all ways" to prevent these businesses from "having to pay for a lack of agreement". With the full rate, the City Council expects to collect 8.2 million euros per year, while the formula agreed with the union would be 4.6 million.
