Citadel and Mahón, progressive strongholds on the right-wing island

CitadelCiutadella and Maó, the two largest municipalities in Menorca, are resisting the right-wing offensive that has swept through the other town halls and the island's own Consell (council), where the former Vox councilor plays a key role. A year and a half before the next elections, both municipalities maintain progressive majorities, a trend only partially shared with Es Mercadal, where the nationalist Joan Manel Palliser (Entesa de la Izquierda) governs with the strategic support of the local PP (People's Party), a support that is not questioned within the government itself. The formula is working, and not even the earthquake caused by the recent criminal conviction of the former PP leader, Tóbal Pons, has shaken it. Stripped of his first deputy mayor position, Pons remains part of the government, while the opposition PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has already changed its spokesperson.

The situation is not the same in any of the three municipalities. In Ciutadella, the vote of no confidence in July 2024 helped restore democratic normality and relegate the PP (People's Party) back to the opposition. The left has repaid this with some disrespectful behavior from the Consell (Island Council) at public events, which has even prompted an official complaint from the City Council, although Mayor Llorenç Ferrer downplays the situation publicly: "We try to serve everyone, whether they voted for us or not," he asserts.

The return, now amicable, of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), PSM-Més per Menorca (Més per Menorca), and Ciutadella Adelante to the municipal government has at least served to remove cars from the Born district, thus fulfilling one of the long-standing objectives, demanded for decades by the vast majority of the city's political parties: to pedestrianize the main square. At the end of the month, in fact, the agreed-upon change of mayor will take effect, with the current mayor, the Socialist Llorenç Ferrer, being replaced by the eco-nationalist Maria Jesús Bagur (PSM). Therefore, on February 1st, Ciutadella will have a new mayor, the fourth woman to assume this position since the beginning of democracy.

In Mahón, on the other hand, nothing is guaranteed. The post-election disagreement between the PSOE and its partner of recent terms, Ara Maó, continues, complicating even the annual budget approval. Last year it took until February to finalize the agreement, and this year, despite Mayor Héctor Pons's optimistic predictions, Ara Maó has not yet guaranteed its support for the budget. The party, which held the mayoralty with Conxa Juanola between 2015 and 2019, has been in opposition for two years and has already forced the minority Socialist government to approve an economic and financial plan to address the imbalances caused by its administration.

Héctor Pons, Menorca's youngest mayor, is exhausted trying to find a solution to the water problem, which remains undrinkable for half the population since a breakdown at the Malbúger denitrification plant in the summer of 2024. A year and a half later, the facility still hasn't been restarted, and complementary solutions, such as the new Sant Climent denitrification plant, will also be insufficient to address the growing scope of the problem. "Very tough years are coming," the mayor warns, already assuming that even the operation of both plants won't guarantee the water supply Mahón needs during the summer season. "The government is paralyzed," criticizes Jordi Tutzó, spokesperson for Ara Maó, who accuses his former coalition partner of having broken its promises. "We erred because we didn't insist more on renegotiating the governing agreement," admits the mayor, who is being called upon to take on new challenges by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), but with the personal obligation to try his luck again in the municipal elections in 2027. "It would be strange to give it up," he affirms. His relationship with the higher administrations managed by the PP (People's Party) also complicates everything even further. The mayor is fighting unsuccessfully to have the municipality declared a high-demand area and to make rents more flexible and facilitate access to housing. He is also trying to regulate the ownership of the Menorca fairgrounds, while the PP is undermining the municipality and beginning to concentrate the fair activity that Mahón traditionally hosted in El Mercadal. "We have unique facilities in Menorca, but they want to snatch the fair activity away from us. They don't even try to hide it anymore," he complains.