Joseba Asiron welcomes her predecessor in office, from UPN, after winning the mayoralty of Pamplona on December 28 through a motion of no confidence. Jaime Villanueva
Ten days have passed since the Pamplona City Council (203,000 inhabitants) approved the motion of no confidence against Cristina Ibarrola (UPN), agreed between EH Bildu and the Navarre Socialists. The Abertzale Joseba Asiron (Pamplona, 61 years old) already leads a tripartite government with Geroa Bai and Contigo-Zurekin, who in his first days in office approved the extension of the budget and, as planned, will announce the reinforcement of resources for Homeless people this Monday in the face of falling temperatures.
The immediate challenge for your executive is to approve the new accounts, but first they must land in their respective areas. However, according to their own statements, they do not have the support of the previous team. According to the city council, there has been virtually no transition, with only a few areas meeting between the outgoing and new officials. The most striking case is that of Ibarrola, which has not responded to Asiron's calls or WhatsApp messages and, as it has publicly stated, has no intention of doing so. The Christmas dates and holidays do not help to restore normality in a city council that is celebrating the first extraordinary plenary session of this legislative period this Monday. A new phase of governance begins, which will serve as a testing ground on the national territory, since it is the first time that EH Bildu will govern thanks to socialist votes.
The beginning wasn't easy at first. “I cannot speak of an orderly transition,” Asirón explained in SER, “because this transition does not exist.” We found formatted computers and I would say that even the office supplies were taken.” There was contact in some specific areas between the outgoing and new teams, but this was minimal. In an interview on the same channel, Ibarrola admits that he has “no interest in talking to people who lie with every word they say,” but assures that the transition has taken place: “He has all the files on all the work, that we have achieved.” . very intense fact during these six months. It has everything transparent in all areas. “We left everything perfect,” he assured.
The first few days are very busy despite the Christmas holidays. The coming cold snap has led the City Council to sign the first measures to increase resources for the homeless, and we have to wait until Thursday 11th for the first regular plenary session, in which two new city councilors will take office – one of them UPN and another from PSN—. In parallel, the groups that make up the tripartite group are setting priorities in their respective administrative areas and are expected to meet in the coming days to begin work on the draft of the next budget. For now, the local government has extended last year's annual financial statements. The tripartite parties still need to negotiate internally and no deadline has been set for moving them forward, although they are intended to coincide with the approval of the Navarre accounts in the regional parliament, scheduled for late February or early March. They are two different levels of management, but those who create the budgets are the same groups, so they are expected to follow a similar line. While at the regional level the Socialists need EH Bildu to green light the bill, at the local level it is the Abertzale coalition that needs the PSN.
There is no first draft bill, although the new mayor has clearly explained his tasks several times. The priority is to combat the homeless situation, “a challenge of the first order,” he said, which also includes promoting a housing plan to build a thousand homes at affordable prices. The measures are included in the programmatic agreement signed by the groups that make up the tripartite group, but they are also in line with what was agreed with the Socialists – who are not part of the city government – around the motion of censure against Ibarrola to implement. Therefore, the PSN is expected to facilitate the approval of the accounts.
The relationship between the four community groups – EH Bildu, PSN, Geroa Bai and Contigo Zurekin (this coalition was not represented in the previous legislative period) – has been and continues to be fluid over the last four and a half years. Asiron himself has publicly admitted that the synergies between these formations began to form “the day after the 2019 elections.” “We have been against Mr. Maya for four years. [Enrique, de UPN] I worked hard and through this trust was built.” Throughout the legislative period, it will be essential for PSN and EH Bildu to negotiate, as the votes of the socialists are necessary for the implementation of the various measures. Predictable disagreements include the design of language policy. Basque and Spanish are official languages in the city and both groups are committed to finding a consensus to ensure Basque treatment according to the demand and sociolinguistic reality of Pamplona.
What influences the most is what happens next. So you don't miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe to
It is the beginning of a legislative period that will serve as a test at the national level, as it is the first time that EH Bildu governs thanks to socialist votes. However, in 2019, María Chivite (PSN) was sworn in as president of the regional community, as several parliamentarians from Abertzale's left abstained – although the Socialists claim that no one asked them – when the PSOE had not yet concluded national agreements with EH Bildu been produced. Since then, Chivite has carried out all budget plans with the support or abstention of this group. It also remains to be seen what impact these agreements will have in Euskadi or on the central government's pact policy. For now, the PSE-EE in the neighboring municipality, which is about to have upcoming but still indefinite elections, insists not to appoint a nationalist candidate as president. For Asiron, it is a matter of time before these pacts are normalized. “EH Bildu does very important work in city councils, in parliament and also in Madrid. There is no denying that it has gained prominence in state politics. We are increasingly receiving more support outside of our work area, namely Euskal Herria. I think this has led the state PSOE to gradually realize that EH Bildu is a reliable partner to work with,” he noted.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_