Municipal elections in Barcelona

On 28 May 2023 municipal elections were held. In Barcelona, the list led by Xavier Trias won the most votes, but without enough of a majority to govern alone, which opened weeks of negotiations among the various groups.

What comes out of the ballot boxes in a city like Barcelona does not stay within the political sphere. The city council takes decisions that shape the day-to-day of businesses, owners and residents, and the make-up of its government can set the direction of those decisions for four years. For businesses, owners and people developing projects in the city, municipal elections tend to have a closer and more tangible effect than other electoral contests, because the powers concerned affect everyday life.

The result in the city

That result, short of a majority to govern on its own, shifted the decision to negotiation among the groups over who would form a government. In such a situation, the party with the most votes is not guaranteed to govern: it depends on securing enough support.

During that period, the council carries on working normally in its ordinary tasks, but the big decisions are put off until the majority is defined. That is why the weeks after an election with an open result tend to be ones of waiting, contacts and close reading of political signals. The negotiations can lead to different combinations of support, and the rules provide for what happens if no candidate obtains the necessary majority. Knowing those rules helps explain why the ballot result does not always determine who governs.

What a city council decides

Municipal policies on housing, tourism, mobility and licences directly affect businesses and property owners. A council decides, for example, which licences it grants, how it regulates the use of public space, what measures it applies on mobility and how it manages planning.

Each of those decisions translates into concrete conditions: the time it takes for a licence to be granted, the hours and space in which a terrace can operate, the accessibility of premises for customers and suppliers or the restrictions affecting certain works. They are details that, added together, determine the real profitability of a business. In a city with a great deal of tourist and commercial activity, bylaws on terraces, opening hours, noise, building works or deliveries affect the day-to-day operation of businesses as much as the big national economic decisions.

Why the new government mattered

The make-up of the city’s new government mattered. For anyone with a licensed business, premises, a terrace or a building project, the council’s approach can condition deadlines, costs and profitability. What is decided in the town hall shows up in the till at the end of the month.

In weeks of political negotiation, the prudent course is to follow procedures already under way, consult the adviser before starting new ones and not take for granted what the next government’s priorities will be. Statements during a negotiation are not the same as rules, and it is best to wait for concrete decisions before adopting measures that are hard to reverse. A good practice is to keep an up-to-date calendar of licences, renewals and permits for each activity, and to review in good time any procedure that might be affected by a change in municipal approach. And for investment or building projects, it is worth allowing for the fact that processing times can lengthen in periods of political transition, and reflecting that in timetables and associated financing.

Local politics rarely makes economic headlines, but it decides many of the conditions in which people work every day.

This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.