When I am mayor I will open the city like a bottle of cava. We must let Barcelona flow

Jaume Collboni meets us at the PSC campaign headquarters. In all the rooms, there are people from his team gathered. Electoral frenzy is palpable. The same we observe in the candidate: he goes in and out from one meeting to another. It's almost eleven-thirty in the morning and he still hasn't had breakfast. At the beginning of the interview, he is offered a sandwich and a Coca-Cola. He pushes them to one side of the table and says: "Let's get down to business."

--- What is Jaume Collboni's model for Barcelona?

--- That of a city on a human scale with global ambition. A city that regains order and offers opportunities to live and work. And, above all, that restores pride to the people of Barcelona.

--- Let's go by parts. What do you mean by saying that order must be restored?

--- In recent years, citizens have the perception that Barcelona is disorderly, that public space has lost quality, that there are problems with cleanliness, and the feeling of insecurity has grown.

"Citizens have the perception that Barcelona is disorderly"

--- There is a part of perception and a part of reality. But it is evident that something has not worked. With cleaning, for example, if we look at the resources we use ---it is the main contract of the city--- it is not working. And regarding security, it is evident that, although the data tells us that crime has been reduced by 19% compared to 2019, the feeling of insecurity has settled in many places. However: we must congratulate the Guardia Urbana. They have done a good job. The problem of the top manta that we had at the beginning of 2019, from Barceloneta to Colón, was resolved. The problem of the bici-taxis has also been resolved. But what has to do with public security, which is the responsibility of the Mossos, it is evident that there is still much to do. We, in four years, have put 1,000 more guards on the street, but the Generalitat has just now recognized that 600 Mossos are missing in the city.

--- If you are mayor, how will you solve this perception or reality regarding insecurity?

--- To begin, by reestablishing democratic authority. For me, respect and compliance with rules is a value. Secondly, by appealing to civility. I don't know why a part of the left has an aversion to talking about civility and co-responsibility in public space. In addition, some civility rules must be reformed and, probably, some sanctions for uncivil behavior will have to be increased. Those who make graffiti, those who skip the schedules for throwing out garbage or those who litter. It is a message that the highest authority of the city, which is the mayor, must promote without complexes and naturally.

--- There is also a mobility problem. How to solve it?

--- To begin: Barcelona is a walkable city and this is a great value that we must defend. The priority must be to defend the pedestrian. Not all cities have the privilege of being able to walk them from end to end. Secondly, public transport. All the great metropolises of the world are based on public transport. In fact, in Barcelona we do it in 80% of displacements. And, especially, in the case of Barcelona and the metropolitan region, we move by train and by metro. And I add the metro, because for now the train is being talked about, but what really articulates a metropolis is the metro. Therefore, we must not stop building more kilometers of metro, as it is the fastest and most efficient way to articulate the metropolis. And third: the decarbonization process. It is an urgency. And this means continuing to electrify the city. At this moment we are the first city in Spain and the fifth in Europe in electric charging points. We must continue to promote this process in a cohesive way so that it reaches all neighborhoods. Because this must make the last part possible: that cars and motorcycles become electrified.

"We must not stop building more kilometers of metro, as it is the fastest and most efficient way to articulate the metropolis"

--- The first barrier we must overcome is where to plug in the car. And, therefore, not to make a speech strictly against private vehicles, as they continue to be a necessity for many people. One out of 5 Barcelonans works outside the city and the vast majority go to places where there is no good public transport: industrial estates. The residents who work in the industrial estates of Vallès or Baix Llobregat. Therefore, this must be taken into consideration. And finally, any decision related to mobility and urban planning must bear in mind that the city of Barcelona is 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes. The 15 minutes are well resolved with good public transport within the city. With 30 minutes, we start to have some deficiencies, but they are part of the reality of city life. Where we start to have greater deficiencies is with 60 minutes, which correspond to the metropolitan region, that of 5.2 million people. And this is where we must act more.

--- Where do you place VTCs?

--- VTCs have their place if they don't act as taxis. We defend that the taxi is a public service that must be preserved. With quality and with competition within the sector. However, we defend that the city has the right to decide its economic model and avoid the negative consequences of platform economies. We have done it with the Amazon tax, we have done it with VTCs, and we are also doing it with the proliferation of ghost kitchens. Here the key is regulation. I defend the European social model: there must be competition, but it must be done with rules. Respecting labor rights, service quality, and user rights and, above all, taking into account that Barcelona is not a testing ground or a place to try one's luck with new business models.

"Barcelona is not a testing ground or a place to try one's luck with new business models"

--- The maxim is to diversify the city's economy. And in the tourism sector, which is a very important industry, it must be to grow in quality, but not in quantity. For us, the adjective of tourism policy should be cultural and, therefore, highlight heritage, gastronomy, music, art, etc. We do not want sun and beach tourism. We do not want flip-flops and drunkenness. We cannot prevent people from coming, but we can promote a type of quality activity linked to culture. And, of course, accompanied by the fight against illegalities.

--- Does this include cruise tourism?

--- We must work to be the home port, not just another stopover. To have quality in tourism, you must have a visitor who stays 2 or 3 days in the city, who can stay in hotels, who can go to restaurants, who has a more relaxed visit. Now, it's curious because these days someone is making a very bitter anti-cruise speech, when it was in year 18 that the agreement was reached to build the new terminals, where these cruises that now make a stopover are located.

--- Another prominent type of tourism is that of major events. Some time ago, it seemed that Barcelona had given up playing a prominent role, but now we are once again a benchmark. What is your model?

--- This is precisely thanks to the PSC being in the city government. Otherwise, we would not have had any of these major events. Things don't just happen. It is the result of discreet and constant work over the last few years that has brought new fairs, new international sporting events and major cultural events. The America's Cup, ISE or the World Capital of Architecture have been worked on extensively in collaboration with the private sector. The recovery of city pride, in part, will involve having these major events. My prediction is that every year there will be one or two major international events that will serve to energize the cultural, sports and economic sectors and project us to the world.

"My prediction is that every year there will be one or two major international events that will serve to energize sectors and project us to the world"

--- Montjuïc must be more accessible. Montjuïc is an epicenter of cultural and sports activities, but we must reinforce mobility on the mountain. Thanks to European funds, plans are already underway. For accessibility with escalators, with bike lanes, and also to facilitate private mobility. But there is also a question of the city's imaginary. The centenary of the 1929 International Exhibition will be a great opportunity. If I am mayor, it will be one of the things I will do during the first 100 days: launch the centenary commemoration committee, as it is a way to reclaim the imaginary of Montjuïc in the city.

"I want to launch the centenary commemoration committee of the 1929 International Exhibition, as it is a way to reclaim the imaginary of Montjuïc in the city"

--- Unfortunately, there is more talk than reality. Public-private collaboration does not mean that there are private participation bodies financed with public funds. Genuine public-private collaboration is what has happened in the America's Cup, where there have been people and companies that have put resources to make an event go ahead. Public-private collaboration sometimes means that the initiative is only private and that the public sector should only accompany and facilitate. Sometimes it simply means letting things happen. During my time in Culture, I reactivated the Fundació Barcelona Cultura. For me, it is very paradigmatic of what public-private collaboration should be: a group of companies that co-financed cultural projects that fit with their commercial targets or with their ideas. This has been interrupted by the "comuns" (common people), because they do not believe in these initiatives. And, finally, public-private collaboration also means letting things happen and making it easy for art galleries, when they hold exhibitions in the street, for example, to do so.

--- This means there is an excess of bureaucracy for private initiative.

--- Absolutely. Barcelona is already the administration in Spain that pays third parties most quickly, because it is an issue that helps SMEs. But, then, there is a whole set of bureaucratic procedures, especially deadlines, that we must resolve and simplify. One of the things I will do when I am mayor is to open the city like a bottle of cava. We must let Barcelona flow, emerge.

"There is a whole set of bureaucratic procedures that we must resolve and simplify"

--- Of course. The housing challenge will only be solved from a metropolitan scale. The challenge of new ways of generating and distributing energy too. The mobility challenge is evident, and so is that of digital infrastructures.

--- Are you talking about creating the figure of a great metropolitan mayor?

--- Institutional reforms, in Catalonia, are not our strong suit. Rather, we complicate our lives... I believe it is much better to coordinate policies than to make institutional organizational changes.

--- Finally, as a fan of The Newsroom: Why can Barcelona be the best city in the world?

--- Barcelona is already the best city in the world. We have a civic associative fabric that no other city in the world has. We have an entrepreneurial capacity and a cultural, sports, and economic initiative that no city in the world has. We have good infrastructure, good connectivity, and international reputation. We only lack one thing: a good mayor.

--- To conclude: tell me something positive about Ada Colau.

--- The capacity to empathize.

--- And about Xavier Trias?

--- The affability.

--- And about Ernest Maragall.

--- The capacity for analysis.