The popular candidate is sworn in for leading the most voted list on 28M by failing to achieve the support of the absolute majority of the new Corporation
“We cannot govern alone. We need support, we will look for it and we will find it”, he pointed out after being proclaimed
“I am hereby proclaimed mayor of the very heroic, loyal and always faithful city of Alicante don Luis Jose Barcala Sierra for having headed the list that obtained the greatest number of popular votes, since no candidate had reached the absolute majority of the votes of the councilors”. The popular candidate for re-election has been invested this Saturday as mayor of Alicante, for the third time in just five years, although without an absolute majority, by only getting the support of the PP councillors. That is, 14 of the 29 councilors of the new Corporation that came out of the polls and that has been constituted in a session held in the Blue Room of the Alicante Town Hall.
in front of 14 votes added by Barcala after a secret ballot, the socialist Ana Barceló has obtained eight ballots with her name, compared to four for Carmen Robledillo (Vox), two for Rafa Mas (Compromís) and the only support for Manolo Copé (EU-Unidas Podemos).
This result has not been a surprise. It has been known for more than ten days. Then it was confirmed that the popular Luis Barcala he was going to be proclaimed mayor of Alicante for being the candidate on the list with the most votes at the polls. And it is that the third time has not been the charm either. The current mayor confirmed that he would not get the support he needed to reach an absolute majority during the round of contacts held with the representatives of the other groups represented in the City Council. Both the three groups of the left (PSOE, Compromís and EU-Unidas Podemos) as Vox They announced that they refused to give him their support, as was confirmed in plenary session this Saturday, June 17.
Barcala has reissued the position he obtained in April 2018, although then he snatched the Mayor’s Office from the left thanks to the vote of a defector from Podemos after the resignation of the socialist Gabriel Echávarri due to problems with justice. A year later, in June 2019, the popular revalidated his position, already with the support of the polls, after agreeing on a minority government with Ciudadanos.
Now, five years after taking over the leadership, Barcala has once again been invested as mayor of Alicante. If he completes this municipal mandate, He will become the third alderman with the longest years in office since the recovery of democracy, surpassing Sonia Castedo (2008-2014) and falling behind Luiz Díaz Alperi (1995-2008) and José Luis Lassaletta (1979-1991).
Between oaths and promises
The act has started, as usual, about twenty minutes late with the constitution of the new Corporation, resulting from the recent elections of the past 28M. The secretary of the Plenary has been calling the elected councilors one by one, the majority of “premieres”, according to the order in which they appeared in the certification sent by the Electoral Board. The first to take the podium was the socialist Ana Barceló, while the last was Manolo Copé, from EU-Unidas Podemos.
Subsequently, the Age Committee was set up, made up of the socialist Miguel Castelló, as the oldest elected councillor, and Sara Llobell (Compromís), as the youngest in plenary. Those proclaimed, to acquire the full status of councilor, have had to take an oath or promise to abide by the Constitution, as required by article 108 of the electoral law. In that instant, they have received the medal of the City Council and the insignia with the municipal shield has been delivered. All the PP councilors have been sworn in in Spanish, as have the representatives of Vox, except for Utrera, who has promised. Meanwhile, in the PSOE there have been three promises in Spanish, four in Valencian and one oath, that of Raúl Ruiz. In Compromís, its two councilors have promised in Valencian, with Llobell extending his words to the Autonomy Statute. Finally, Manolo Copé has caused a rumor among the attendees, by swearing allegiance to the king “by legal imperative”.
With the new Corporation constituted, the process for the election of the mayor has begun. On the voting cards was the name of the leaders of the five municipal groups, since previously none had given up being elected. Previously, the five applicants have had a five-minute intervention.
interventions
The first to speak has been Manolo Copé (EU-United We Can)who has indicated that he will work from the opposition to “defend the rights of the social majority” and has pointed out the importance of “fleeing from polarization”.
Along the same lines, it has been shown Rafa Mas (Commitment), although with greater precision in his speech, talking about challenges such as dirt, noise, climate change and the economic model. His speech, critical of the Vox ultras for denying sexist violence and climate change, has caused some booing among the attendees.
In fact, Carmel Robledillo (Vox) At the start of his speech, he thanked Mas for mentioning them in his speech. On the sidelines, Robledillo has placed families at the center of policies and has defended lowering taxes and reducing “ideological spending”, in addition to protecting local commerce and fighting inequalities between neighborhoods, so that the streets are clean and illuminated. . He has also spoken of increasing security so that, among other issues, “young women return home without fear of being attacked.” The intervention ended with a “Long live Alicante and long live Spain”.
Then it was the turn of Ana Barcelo (PSOE), who has asked for “height of view” to the next components of the municipal government of the PP. “We are going to exercise leadership from the opposition, with supervision of the government and also building an alternative project. And we demand what we have not had: a clear course with the city model for the coming years,” said Barceló, who said that the PSOE will be a “wall against those who want to go back in rights and freedoms.” In addition, he has reached out to Barcala to work on policies from the “dialogue.”
The initial interventions ended with the mayor and candidate for re-election, Luis Barcala, who has boasted of the management carried out during the past term. In fact, he has thanked all his colleagues, with special words for Mari Carmen Sánchez, who has followed the plenary session from the front row, together with the family of the popular leader. In addition, the popular leader has highlighted the majority support received by the PP at the polls, although he has admitted that it has not been enough to overcome the absolute. “In the last four years we have moved the city forward. My proposal for the rest of the groups is a stable government team, sensible in its decisions. It is not a blank check, as they have said, it is a declaration of intent”, he added Barcala.
secret votes
After the speeches, it was time for the secret ballot in a closed ballot box. The mayor of Alicante, recently elected with fourteen votes in favour, has been sworn in, at that moment collecting the Mayor’s Medal and the baton of office. “Thank you very much”, Barcala repeated, noticeably moved, while receiving applause from those present.
Already proclaimed mayor, the popular leader has once again taken the floor. He has done so by maintaining his critical discourse with Valencia and Madrid, although with nuances regarding his intervention four years ago after the upcoming change of government in the Generalitat. “We are going to continue to be vindictive. I am confident in the change that is coming. Carlos Mazón is committed to Alicante, to his city“He underlined, while also highlighting the importance of promoting a “dialogue” with Elche, where the PP will also govern with Pablo Ruz.
Barcala, in his first speech after being re-elected mayor of Alicante, has admitted that he needs support to govern. “I need everyone’s help, whatever group they are. I extend a hand that will remain extended throughout the mandate. We cannot govern alone. We need support, we will look for it and we will find it”, pointed out Barcala, who intends to govern “for everyone and for and for Alicante”. hymns of Spain, Alicante and the Valencian Community.
Twenty days after 28M
The plenary session this Saturday, prior to Bonfires, has been the culmination of the elections of the 28M in the city of Alicante, in which the PP of Luis Barcala was the great winner, being only one councilor of the absolute majority. The mayor and candidate for re-election will be able to govern alone for the next four years, as he already did in his first year in office, without the need for some Vox ultras that have doubled their presence in plenary. And it is that the popular ones were the list with the most votes, as has been the case in the city since 1995. This time, with 59,896 endorsements. The left remained even further from its objective than it had been, the fifteen councilors who establish the absolute majority in the Alicante capital.
Among the guests at an always massive act, with almost 300 people in the Blue Room alone, in addition to those present in the two annexed rooms, the presence of the former mayor has stood out moon angel, who in turn is trustee of Greuges. They have not been, instead, neither Luis Díaz Alperi nor Gabriel Echávarri, nor Miguel Valor nor Sonia Castedo, who did attend the event four years ago. In the front line have been the minister Josephine Goodtogether with the rector of the University of Alicante, Amparo Navarroamong others, as business representatives, such as Antonio Arias or Carlos Bañotrade unions and civil society, with a large presence of festive leaders, with Toni Martin Zarcopresident of the Fireworks Federation, at the front.
Renewed plenary session and the government, now with powers
After the vote of the past 28M, the new municipal plenary session of the Alicante City Council, where there is a major renovation. Of the 29, at the end only ten ediles repeat, being the majority of the PP. Specifically, in the future popular municipal group there will be six “repeaters”, although one of those people with just a few weeks of experience when taking office in the final stretch of the last term, and eight rookies.
Among the councilors who follow are his own Luis Barcalawhich reached the plenary session of Alicante during the mandate of Sonia Castedoin addition to Manuel Villar, Mari Carmen from Spain, Antonio Peral, Lidia López and Cristina García. From the PSOE, in the end, after the fall of representation, two councilors repeat: Loving Trinitywho was deputy spokesperson during the turbulent past term, and Raul Ruiz.
In addition, they also follow Rafa Mas, councilor for commitment who will now become the spokesperson for the group, and Mario Ortolawho will foreseeably make the opposite trip, since he has been the voice of the ultras in plenary for the last four years, while in these municipal elections he was “two” of Carmen Robledillo. The only group in the City Council in which there will be no familiar faces among its elected members will be that of EU–United We Cansince its only representative will be Manolo Cope.
Less than 48 hours after being appointed mayor of Alicante again, Luis Barcala revealed last Thursday the distribution of powers among his 14 councilors.