Most of the town councils in Spain have been constituted this Saturday after the 28M elections, marking a significant change in the municipal power across the country. One of the biggest surprises occurred in Barcelona, where the ‘municipalities’ of Ada Colau and the PP managed to make the socialist Jaume Collboni the mayor in a last-minute twist, ousting the election winner Xavier Trias from Junts.
In the rest of Spain, the PP has achieved mayoralties in around thirty provincial capitals, and in five of them, they will govern in coalition with Vox. The PSOE, which previously governed in 22 capitals, is now left with only ten.
Another notable change occurred in Pamplona, where Cristina Ibarrola from UPN has taken over as mayor after failed attempts by the PSOE and Bildu to propose an alternative candidate. Additionally, Gonzalo Pérez Jácome from Democracia Ourensana has managed to retain his position as mayor in Ourense, despite efforts from both the PP and PSOE to remove him.
EH Bildu, the party with the most votes in many Basque municipalities, has achieved a record number of mayors. However, the main municipalities have been retained by the PNV and the PSE, who have renewed their agreements from the previous term to prevent the abertzale formation from governing. In some cases, the support of the PP has been necessary, such as in Vitoria, where the socialist Maider Etxebarria has been elected mayor.
On May 28, citizens across Spain elected mayors for approximately 8,100 municipalities. The PP emerged as the winner with seven million votes and over 23,000 councilors, surpassing the PSOE by more than half a million votes.
In 44 municipalities, local elections were not held due to a lack of residents willing to run for mayor. Most of these municipalities are located in depopulated areas of Spain. For example, towns like Roncal in Navarre and Trespaderne in Burgos did not hold plenary sessions on Saturday. The city of León has even postponed its session to July 7.
Overall, the constitution of the municipalities in Spain has brought about significant changes in political power, with the PP gaining ground in many provincial capitals and coalitions forming between different parties to secure mayoralties.
How did Ada Colau’s municipal party and the PP manage to lead Jaume Collboni to become the mayor of Barcelona, despite him not being the elected candidate?
The majority of Spanish town councils have been established this past Saturday following the 28M elections, bringing about a noteworthy shift in municipal power throughout the country. A surprising turn of events took place in Barcelona, where Ada Colau’s municipal party, alongside the PP, managed to unexpectedly lead the socialist Jaume Collboni to become the mayor, upending the elected candidate.
Interesting article highlighting the significant shifts in Spanish municipal power, as the conservative PP and right-wing Vox parties make notable gains in provincial capitals. These changes reflect a shifting political landscape and could have far-reaching implications for policymaking at the local level.
It is interesting to see the PP and Vox gaining ground in Spanish provincial capitals. These major changes in municipal power reflect the shifting political landscape in Spain.