Ciutadella inaugurates its third mayor in three years

The lead candidate for PSM-Més per Menorca, Maria Jesús Bagur (1979), was sworn in at 1:09 p.m. as the new mayor of Ciutadella. She is the third mayor in two and a half years and the fourth woman to hold the position among the 15 mayors the municipality has had since the beginning of democracy. Visibly moved, the former deputy mayor received the support of 11 of the 21 council members and, amidst applause from citizens and left-wing officials who filled the Can Saura plenary hall to capacity, received the mayoral staff from her predecessor, who had held the position for the past year and a half since the successful vote of no confidence on July 19, 2014, which ousted the People's Party (PP) from the municipal government. On a rainy and windy Saint John Bosco Day, a day of great significance for the city's Salesian community, the PSOE, PSM-Més per Menorca, and Ciutadella Endavant parties fulfilled their governance agreement and carried out the agreed-upon transfer of the mayoralty with the aim of continuing the transformation of Plaça del Born into a vibrant pedestrian space. In her address, the new mayor emphasized municipal politics as a vocation of service and stressed the importance of building partnerships with other administrations, especially the Consell Insular and the Balearic Government, to address the needs of the population. Maria Jesús Bagur wants to create a more sustainable and accessible Ciutadella where no one is left behind and where the elderly are cared for with respect and fairness. The renovation of the nursing home will, in fact, be one of the priorities of her term, along with the renovation of the Born cultural center and the construction of the new Music School, which she has been able to process in recent months through the Culture Department. She has also pledged to take steps to facilitate access to housing, aware that the land transferred to the Balearic Housing Institute (Ibavi) for new developments "is not enough," and has made a public appeal to combat political disaffection. Married and a mother of two, the new mayor is a businesswoman. She has been with the City Council since 2019, when she joined the team led by then-mayor Joana Gomila, who was present at the event. Also in attendance were the regional ministers and the other mayor from the Menorcan party, Joan Manel Palliser (Es Mercadal), who were the only ones who remained standing throughout her speech. Also in attendance were key figures from other parties, such as the PSOE, represented by State Deputy Pepe Mercadal, regional deputies Marc Pons and Pilar Carbonero, island councilors, and the mayor of Maó, Héctor Pons. More than fifty guests, mostly politicians, journalists, and family members, were the only ones able to attend the proceedings in person in the small plenary hall, as the historic Gothic Hall has been under construction for months. This meant that another hundred or so attendees had to watch it on the giant screen installed on the first floor of Can Saura. The event started twenty minutes late because, due to the storm, the Wi-Fi connection was down, and a live broadcast of the plenary session could not be guaranteed. It could also be followed live online. "A team of people, not parties."

The session was opened by the outgoing mayor, the Socialist Llorenç Ferrer, who emphasized the responsibility, the "immense privilege" he had felt, and the "teamwork" that had taken place. His leadership was acknowledged by all his fellow council members, especially the spokesperson for Ciutadella Endavant, Carla Gener, who praised his leadership "of people, not parties." In fact, at the end of the session, the eleven councilors who share management responsibilities embraced in a circle, like a football team, to demonstrate that, 30 months after their failed negotiations for the pact that gave the PP the government for the first year, they had finally closed ranks.

The PP: "This is the greatest period of instability in our democracy"

The Popular Party spokesperson, Juana Mari Pons, who assumed the mayoralty during that initial period, received 10 votes: those of her colleagues and that of the councilwoman expelled from Vox, María Teresa de Medrano, who, out of deference to the council, was allowed to speak at the session. Juana Mari Pons criticized the left for having orchestrated another change in the mayoralty "for a mere division of salaries and positions" and accused them of leading "the greatest period of political instability in the city's democratic history." The president of the PP-Ciutadella lamented the "arrogance and false consensus" of the tripartite coalition, which "governs with its back to the people." The spokesperson for the Popular Party group, Joan Benejam, also spoke, emphasizing that the Born "is the symbol of the failure" of their administration, "a flagship project gone bust, which has divided the people of Ciutadella." Benejam lamented that Llorenç Ferrer had been "a mayor who didn't elect anyone and who didn't listen to the people" and warned his successor that, "if she tries to impose her will, she will find us mounting a firm, clear, and courageous opposition."