Republican Ernest Maragall will not complete the current term, and his number two, Elisenda Alamany, will take command of the ERC group at Barcelona City Council. The candidate of the formation in the next municipal elections will be chosen by militancy in primaries. She brought it up yesterday in a somewhat casual way at the end of a press conference dedicated to commenting on the proposals of Republican councilors in the upcoming municipal commissions.
In reality, the news was a more or less known public domain secret, especially since Jaume Collboni wrested the mayorship from Xavier Trias at the last minute and Maragall was on the verge of becoming part of an executive of sovereign profile But until yesterday, no one in the Republican ranks had raised the question so clearly. The Republicans are also just suffering the loss of half of their councilors in the last elections. What Alamany did not specify was when Maragall's departure will take place and the corresponding consultation with the militancy to choose the next candidate.
"Xavier Trias also said that he will not finish the mandate and honestly I do not think that Ada Colau will continue until the end - said Alamany-. Maragall's work deserves great recognition. He is the first Republican candidate to win a municipal election in Barcelona". At the moment, the republican formation is immersed in a readjustment process after councilor Eva Baró obtained control of the Barcelona federation. Everything points, however, that these changes will do nothing more than increase the pressure on the government of Mayor Jaume Collboni, that ERC will exert a very tough opposition, at least during the remainder of the mandate, as it has been doing lately.
"We must learn the lesson, change the strategy of the previous mandate - Alamany emphasized during the appearance - and we must also defend our city model. Mayor Collboni seems to feel much more comfortable looking to the right. We voted against the tax ordinances, and if they continue in this way we will also vote against the municipal budgets”.
