The candidate of the Trias for Barcelona bid in the 2023 municipal elections, Xavier Trias, stated this Thursday that he heads "the only candidacy" that is absolutely clear that it will not govern with the current mayor, Ada Colau. In this regard, he called on the Catalan Socialists (PSC) and Republican Left (ERC) to urge them to clarify whether they want to "keep" Colau at the head of the municipal government or whether they will "commit to change". In the cycle of candidate colloquia organized by ElNacional.cat, the mayor also outlined his own policy of pacts and said that, if he wins the elections, he will contact both the Socialists and the Republicans: "Let's see who signs up," he postulated.
Over a hypothetical scenario in which the votes of the People's Party (PP) became necessary for Xavier Trias to become mayor of Barcelona, the candidate indicated that he believes he is going to obtain between 13 and 14 councillors and that, given this, the support of the PP would almost certainly not be necessary. In addition, if Trias obtains this figure, he considers that, in order to block him, Ada Colau's Barcelona en Comú, the PSC and ERC would all need to come to an understanding, and for this reason he claimed that he is "the only one" who guarantees that Colau will not have a third term or will be part of the Barcelona government. In any case, if on the night of May 28th the Trias for Barcelona candidacy is not the most voted list, the man who was mayor of the city between 2011 and 2015 has emphasized that he will "go home". "At the age of 76 there is no point in being a councillor, it only makes sense if it is to be mayor", he added.
"To go only with Junts is to lose the opportunity to add more"
During the informative breakfast with ElNacional.cat this Thursday, Xavier Trias boasted of having "a very powerful team" and emphasized that the main condition he set for presenting himself again was to have his hands free to configure the list he wanted. Asked about the fact that he is presenting himself under the brand Trias per Barcelona (Trias for Barcelona) and not under the name Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), the candidate specified that "it is not a question of hiding the acronym, but of adding an extra and creating empathy that makes many people vote for you". "Going only with Junts would have lost the opportunity to add more, as the PDeCAT, Demòcrates and Moviment d'Esquerres would not have supported us," he said. According to Trias, this "grouping of people" is necessary to "get a result that allows us to govern" and that this is not "hiding at all": "I am a member of Junts, but I am putting together a candidacy in my own way". The colloquium was introduced and closed by the director and editor of ElNacional.cat, José Antich, and was moderated and presented by the group's audiovisual director, Jofre Llombart.
Public order and cleanliness, priorities of the Xavier Trias project
Throughout the conversation, Trias insisted that law and order along with cleanliness are two of the main problems that people convey to him about the city. "It is absolutely necessary for the city to be clean and for people to feel safe," he said. For the number one on the Trias list for Barcelona, "if Colau and Collboni think the city is clean, they should have their eyes examined, it's obvious that it's very dirty". "When I arrived in 2011, the same thing happened and in my first interview I said it was dirty. The next day all the cleaning concession holders wanted to talk to me because they said it wasn't true and I put a manager in charge of cleaning to ensure that the city was clean", he explained, while adding that he will follow a similar recipe if he becomes mayor.
With regard to law and order on the streets, Xavier Trias has been very critical of Ada Colau: "If she thinks that the security forces are repressive, we're going the wrong way and it's a disaster." "The police forces must do their job and, when a demonstration gets out of control, they must act," he replied. From the point of view of the ex-mayor, Colau "has to believe that she is the figure responsible for law and order and that the security forces are her security forces". At the same time, Trias proposes that there should be more officers from the two police forces deployed in the city, Barcelona's Guàrdia Urbana and Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra: "There is one basic thing, which is prevention and this often translates into presence: if you see officers on the street, that provides security".
Critical of Colau's superblocks and of the tramway management
Asked about urban planning and the development of the superilles ("superblocks") over the last 8 years, the Trias candidate for Barcelona emphasized the fact that "what Ada Colau is making are not superblocks or green areas". He criticized that the changes are causing loading and unloading points to disappear and, although he admits that the latest of the developments, that centred on Carrer Consell de Cent, is not guilty in this respect, he detailed that he will modify the chamfers of the Eixample intersections affected so that there these points for stationing and discharge exist, since without them "major congestion in parts of the city" is generated. For Trias, it is "surprising that, being a leftist, Colau chose to transform Carrer Consell de Cent and did not cover the city's Ronda de Dalt motorway". "If you want a green axis, the Ronda de Dalt must be covered over, and this is what we will do," he claimed. As well, the 2011 to 2015 mayor criticized the bike lane that is being built on Via Augusta: "Traffic circulation is being destroyed".
Another urban aspect that has to do with mobility is the Avinguda Diagonal tram, being extended from Glòries to Verdaguer and which the Ada Colau government wants to take all the way up to Francesc Macià. Xavier Trias is against making this last part of the connection: "Why do we have to spend a million euros to put in a fixed structure that was modern in the 20th century, considering that today there are electric buses?" he asked. He commented that probably they will stop the project continuing from Verdaguer to Francesc Macià and he was critical of the company that manages the tram: "Who wants to spend all that money? The company that manages the tram. It is surprising that Ada Colau wants to help that company".
In terms of housing, Trias advocates a pact between the parties to agree on "what to do in the next 20 or 30 years". "What we must do is build housing, the entire coastline of Barcelona was transformed from the river Besòs to the Hospital del Mar and affordable housing owned by the city council was not built there, it's a disaster," he replied. In this context, the candidate defends a model that makes the city "competitive" with "sustainable economic activity" and tourism emphasizing certain types: "cultural, business, family, congress and trade fairs".
The drought problem: a need for "complicity with those who manage the water"
The drought has been shaping the political agenda over recent months and will also have its impact on the new municipal mandates that begin on June 17th. In this respect, Xavier Trias stresses the need for "complicity with those who manage the water so that they make the investments that should allow us to do well". "You need to have a good relationship with Aigües de Barcelona, it's barbaric when a government goes against the company that provides the service", he added. From the ex-mayor's perspective, it is necessary to "build trust and agree on the investments to be made because what cannot be allowed is for Barcelona to be left without water".
Asked about the pact at the Diputació, Barcelona's provincial administration, Xavier Trias was very clear and favoured repeating the pact with the PSC. "We have to collaborate, I think it's been a success." "I understand that we have had experiences at Catalan level that have been very painful, that are difficult to understand and forgive; but we have to look forward and we cannot be moved by situations like this, but we have to understand that the city moves forward", he asserted.
Below, the full colloquium with Xavier Trias: