Catalá (PP), the new mayoress of Valencia without the votes of Vox, who reproaches her for her "amoral government"

The popular María José Catalá is already the new mayoress of Valencia after receiving this Saturday the command rod from Joan Ribó, who eight years ago snatched the Mayor's Office from Rita Barberá for Compromís. Catalá, who gave birth to her second son a few days ago, has thus recovered for the PP the symbolic square of the Valencian capital, in a plenary session of investiture in the City Council in which she has flown over the PP-Vox pact at the regional level and the controversy on account of the denial of gender violence by those of Santiago Abascal.

To the point that yesterday Ribó was in charge of leaving his seal hanging the LGTBI flag from the balcony of the consistory. The flag was no longer displayed this morning on the façade of the building – the PP says that by order of Compromís – but, in exchange, the image of the Virgen de los Desamparados that her government relocated has returned to the main floor of the consistory. A whole declaration of intent from the new mayoress, who has also sought her own profile, moving away from Vox.

Catalá has not needed the votes of Vox to become the new mayor, since the PP has been the list with the most votes and has taken advantage of its 13 councilors. The four from Vox would have given him an absolute majority, but Catalá has preferred for the moment to keep his distance from Vox and not even sit down with them to negotiate. This strategy contrasts with that followed by the president of the Valencian PP, Carlos Mazón, who has managed to close an express pact with Vox to be able to be sworn in as president of the Generalitat. In this case, out of necessity.

But Catalá has not strayed from his roadmap, since since he won the elections on 28-M he has been insisting on an idea: he will govern alone (and in a minority) seeking specific agreements. In fact, the four Vox councilors, led by Juanma Badenas, have voted for their candidate and have not given Catalá free support.

Moreover, during his speech, Badenas has reproached him that at least Compromís and PSOE followed “a moral principle that was to achieve a stable and solid government”, unlike Catalá. “His decision to govern in a minority is not aimed at the common good,” warned the Vox candidate, who has directly described the Government of Catalá as “amoral”: “Obtaining a government without conforming to a required majority just because it allows it the law is not considered the most moral and virtuous”.

Catalá has avoided responding directly to him during his speech, although he has made it clear that “Valencia is above everything, ideologies, acronyms and people”. In this sense, he has promised “the search for consensus as a guide” and has urged the groups to join the beneficial agreements for Valencia.

Now, PSOE and Compromís already anticipate a hard line in the opposition. Ribó has remarked that “the differences between its city model and that of Compromís are multiple”. And while the already former socialist vice mayor Sandra Gómez has lamented the “national absurdity” of the pact with Vox, Catalá has stressed: “Not one step back in the fight against gender violence and not one more lesson on this issue.”

“Valencia is Spain and Spain is Valencia”, has declared the new mayoress, who has promised to “protect” the hallmarks of Valencian identity and begin her mandate seeking an agreement that recovers the bilingual name of the city (the official name is now only in Valencian). What's more, he will ask for reports that determine whether the denomination in Valencian should be Valencia (the regulation) or Valencia.

The PP expands its local power

Valencia will not be the only large city governed by the PP, which on 28-M recovered an important share of local power. In Alicante, the Popular Party revalidates the Mayor's Office after winning the third consecutive election.

Luis Barcala could not govern in 2015 due to a pact from the left, but in 2018 he presented a motion of no confidence from which he emerged with the baton due to the vote of a defector from the confluence promoted by Podemos. In 2019, he supported Ciudadanos to form a government and on May 28, he was one councilor from the absolute majority, which will force him to come to terms with Vox. At the moment, he flees from integrating them into his government and has announced a delegation of powers that rests solely on the 14 popular councillors.

In Castellón, the popular Begoña Carrasco will also be mayor because she topped the list with the most votes, but in the end she will govern in a minority as the attempted pact with Vox has failed. This party intended to hold the departments of Education, Culture and Tourism, in addition to the first tenure of Mayor.

In Elche, the third largest city in the Valencian Community, the pact between the right-wing was closed even before the regional one, since it was necessary to unseat the PSOE as the winner of the elections. Pablo Ruz will be mayor with the votes of Vox after an agreement by which this formation reserves the departments of Family and the Elderly, with competences in childhood and policies in favor of life, and those of Economic Promotion and Pedanías.

Torrent is in the same situation. Amparo Folgado (PP) closed an agreement with Vox to seize the command rod from Jesús Ros, the socialist who headed the most voted list. For this, it has ceded to Vox the areas of Education and Family, Fiestas -with the exception of the Fallas, which will be directed by the PP-, Sports and Health.

It is in Orihuela where, despite having the option of becoming mayor as the most voted party or with Ciudadanos as partners, the popular have chosen to make José Vergara mayor of the capital of Vega Baja with the votes of Vox, which They will be integrated into the Governing Board with two areas: Family and Coast. In addition, they have started that Equality becomes integrated into Social Welfare and loses its LGTBI last name.

The two large Valencian cities where the Popular Party will govern with an absolute majority are Torrevieja, with the 14 councilors out of 25 that Eduardo Dolón achieved, and Benidorm, with Toni Pérez at the helm, who also aims to be the substitute for Carlos Mazón as president of the Provincial Council of Alicante.

Vox, for its part, has achieved its first mayoralty in the Valencian Community this Saturday with the election of its candidate, Iván Expósito, in the municipality of Náquera (Valencia), where he will govern with the Popular Party.