Colau and Hereu coincide in Madrid as list leaders on 29-N

Ada Colau and Jordi Hereu, former mayors of Barcelona, will run in the general elections on 29 November for the province of Barcelona. Colau's candidacy, yet to be confirmed, and Hereu's already confirmed candidacy for the PSC coincide in the contest for 32 seats.

Catalan politics is preparing for an electoral campaign with two former mayors of Barcelona as protagonists. Ada Colau, who left the Barcelona City Council on 25 October 2024, is considering leading a candidacy to the left of the PSOE for the general elections on 29 November. Jordi Hereu, mayor from 2006 to 2011, has already been designated as the number one candidate for the PSC for the province of Barcelona.

Colau's emergence in state politics would represent an unprecedented case: two former mayors of the Catalan capital coinciding in the same constituency. The province of Barcelona allocates 32 seats in Congress, a prize that both candidacies will compete for.

Colau, the first female mayor in the history of Barcelona after winning in 2015 by a margin of just over 17,000 votes and one councillor against Xavier Trias, is now positioning herself as a reference for the left to the left of the PSOE. Her profile as an activist against the housing crisis, which she failed to resolve during her eight years in office, is central to her discourse.

“She does not rule out making the leap to Madrid. She seems to have the desire.”

Colau's return to the forefront contrasts with her decision to step back from municipal politics. In BComú, they were hoping for her return ahead of the municipal elections in May next year, but the former mayor believes that chapter is behind her.

Hereu's case is different. After losing the mayoralty in 2011 to Trias, he retreated to the private sector as a consultant in urban development. In 2020, he chaired Hispasat and in November 2023, he joined the Government as Minister of Industry and Tourism. He now leads the PSC list for Barcelona.

The campaign may also feature a third active mayor. Xavier Garcia Albiol, the mayor of Badalona, is rumoured to head the PP list for Barcelona. If confirmed, the municipal image of the Catalan campaign will be unprecedented. Albiol, the strongest asset of the Catalan PP according to polls, cannot envision his career far from his city.

The inverse precedent was set by Xavier Trias. In March 2000, backed by Jordi Pujol, he headed the CiU list in the general elections and was the face of moderate Catalan nationalism in Madrid. He later returned to Barcelona to serve as mayor from 2011 to 2015.

The electoral event on 29 November will define not only the distribution of seats but also the weight of municipal leaderships in Spanish politics. For the residents of Barcelona, the paradox is that their last two socialist mayors and the city's first female mayor are once again coinciding in the political arena, this time in Madrid.