Ada Colau confirms plans to seek reelection as mayor
Former anti-eviction activist says she wants to build "progressive" alliance in Barcelona as fierce local battle looms
Barcelona's mayor, Ada Colau, confirmed on Wednesday that she will seek reelection. In a radio interview, Colau said she wants to stand as the candidate for her party, Barcelona en Comú, in the May local election.
The Barcelona local election, on May 26, 2019, will be a fierce battle with heavyweight candidates from each party competing to attract as many votes as possible.
One of the Barcelona mayor's main rivals will be former foreign affairs minister, Ernest Maragall, who is standing as the candidate for the left-wing pro-independence ERC party, and brother of the former president and iconic Barcelona mayor, Pasqual Maragall.
Both will face another big rival in former French prime minister, Manuel Valls, who was born in Barcelona and recently decided to enter Catalan politics.
The Socialists (PSC), traditionally a big party in Barcelona –and until some years ago Maragall's own party-, have recently been losing support in the city, but they could still become kingmakers in any local government. Their candidate, if nothing changes, will very likely be current councilor, Jaume Collboni.
There are other contenders in the local council, such as a group of independents in favor of a Catalan State that have started a process of primaries to elect their candidates: one of the most prominent names is that of Jordi Graupera. Still in the pro-independence camp, the Catalan government delegate in Madrid, Ferran Mascarell, another former Socialist now supporting independence, has also announced his intention to run. The center-right PDeCAT party candidate is Neus Munté, a former minister.
Ada Colau, a former anti-eviction activist, is currently heading a minority government in Barcelona, and admitted that this has not always been easy. That is why she said that if she doesn't win a majority, she will seek agreements with "progressive" parties. She did admit that this could mean considering pacts with the PSC or Maragall's ERC. In contrast, she ruled out working with Manuel Valls or PDeCAT.