Junts primaries in Barcelona turn into a stress test for Puigdemont's authority over the party

A fractious contest

Junts per Catalunya, the party that won the 2023 local elections in Barcelona, is the last major formation to name its candidate for the 2027 municipal ballot. After more than a year and a half of internal indecision, the decision will be made this weekend through a primary that the party leadership, led by Carles Puigdemont and secretary general Jordi Turull, had tried repeatedly to avoid. First, they sought a high-profile independent; then, they backed Puigdemont's former chief of staff, Josep Rius, hoping to clear the field. Rius withdrew when Jordi Martí, the municipal group leader and heir-apparent of Xavier Trias, refused to step aside, opening the door to other contenders.

Candidates and their backers

About a thousand members will choose between four candidates: Jordi Martí Galbis, the veteran city councillor backed by Trias; Pilar Calvo, a deputy in the Spanish Congress and president of the party's national council, seen as close to Puigdemont's inner circle; Glòria Freixa, the first secretary of the Catalan Parliament's bureau; and Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas, a lawyer and former MP who served as Puigdemont's legal adviser. Each collected endorsements from at least 20% of Barcelona's membership, and no pre-primary pacts were reached.

Policy divides: security, housing, and taxes

At the sole debate, held on Friday, the four candidates aligned on core themes: more police, a hard line against repeat offenders and squatting, and lower taxes. Freixa complained of seeing people without shirts, tangas and topless in Ciutadella Park. She added that electric scooters are the greatest source of insecurity for the elderly. Cuevillas endorsed both remarks. On housing, Martí proposed dedicating 50% of the city's budget surplus to a fund for young people, while Calvo wanted to prioritize residency registration years for access to social housing. Cuevillas rejected criminalizing small landlords and pushed for public-private partnerships.

The Trias legacy and Puigdemont's shadow

The primary is widely seen as a proxy battle over the party's direction. Martí presents himself as the guardian of the "Trias legacy" and the old Convergència tradition. At the debate, Calvo retorted bluntly that the former mayor's legacy cannot be inherited, it must be earned. The deeper fault line is the role of Puigdemont. Both Freixa and Martí defend the autonomy of the Barcelona chapter in shaping the list, while Cuevillas insists Puigdemont must carry "all the weight" in party affairs. Calvo says the national leadership would "evidently" be involved. Some party figures describe the vote as a "pre-congress" or even a "plebiscite" on Puigdemont's leadership.

Voting and next steps

Polling runs from Saturday at 10:00 until Sunday at 19:00. Provisional results are expected on Sunday evening, with the definitive tally on 23 June. The winner will hold a press conference shortly after the count. The chosen candidate will then have eleven months to build a campaign to unseat the current PSC mayor, Jaume Collboni.