With minutes until the 5pm start of the constituent meeting to decide the issue, the outcome of the Barcelona mayoral contest once again hangs in the balance. Ada Colau's Comuns have decided to vote for the Catalan Socialist (PSC) candidate, Jaume Collboni, this afternoon at the Barcelona city council despite not having made any government agreement with the Socialists. This could open the door to support from the Spanish right-wing People's Party for Collboni, given that from the start the PP have said that their possible support for Collboni, to "prevent a pro-independence government" led by Xavier Trias and his Together for Catalonia (Junts) based candidacy, would be dependent on BComú not being part of the future council government.
Two votes from the PP
The Socialists have 10 councillors and with the 9 of the Comuns they only need two votes of the four that the PP has, for Collboni to take the mayoralty. The last-minute move by the Comuns leaves it all in the hands of PP leader Daniel Sirera. However, this forces Colau's leftist party, supposedly not aligned on the independence issue, to once again play the game of the anti-independence right, even though Barcelona en Comú assured that it would not be part of any understanding or pact in which the PP took part.
If consummated, it will be the second time in a row that Ada Colau's party and the PSC, together with the vote of the Spanish right, have prevented a pro-independence candidate, the most voted in the elections on both occasions, from reaching the mayoralty of the Catalan capital. Four years ago, it was the support of the councillors of Manuel Valls, then on the Ciudadanos list, together with those of the Comuns and the PSC, who removed the centre-left candidate Ernest Maragall (ERC) and gave Ada Colau the mayoralty.
Below, allocation of seats in the new 41-seat Barcelona city council elected on May 28th. Collboni needs an absolute majority of 21 to take the mayoralty from election winner Trias, who will be mayor in the absence of such a majority.
Above, Results of Barcelona mayoral elections 2023 (outer circle) compared with 2019 (inner circle). Numbers of council seats won.