Barcelona is at the centre of a fresh Junts leadership race, with MP Glòria Freixa seriously considering whether to stand for mayor in next year’s municipal elections. The party’s primary process is due to open on 1 June, and the final candidate is expected to be chosen later this month.
Freixa told Tot Barcelona that she met Junts secretary general Jordi Turull on Wednesday. He explained how the primaries would work if more than one candidate comes forward, and told her the “door was open”. The move comes after a week of changes inside the party’s Barcelona ranks.
Last Friday, Jordi Martí Galbis, Junts’ president on Barcelona City Council, said he would run. Then on Monday, Josep Rius, who had been backed by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and the party leadership, withdrew. In a letter to members shared on social media, Rius said, “In a logic of confrontation and internal division, they will not find me there.”
Other names are still in play. Lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas said in early April that he was ready to be a candidate and argued that primaries make sense if there is more than one option. Sources close to former economy minister Jaume Giró also said he remains open to running. Giró wrote on social media, “I have indeed expressed my availability. Full stop. If primaries are effectively called, as I expect, I will make a final decision. But as I told the President months ago, I feel strong and eager.”
Freixa said she would not have considered standing if only Rius and Martí Galbis were in the race. She added, “The moment Josep Rius withdrew, they opened the door.” She also said she wants renewal in the candidacy. Turull has also met other possible contenders, including former health minister Josep Maria Argimon.
Freixa was born in Barcelona in 1969 and has a law degree. She has been an MP in the Parliament of Catalonia since 2018, and in 2024 she was number 10 on Junts’ Barcelona list for the chamber, led by Puigdemont. Her links to the city include Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, where she set up and chaired the territorial board of Òmnium Cultural in 2018 after joining the organisation in 2015. She later became the first district president for Junts in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi.
The primary calendar was confirmed on Wednesday in a meeting between Turull, Joan Rodríguez, president of the Barcelona federation, and Joan Ramon Casals, head of municipal policy. District presidents from Barcelona also attended, including Ximena Gadea, the councillor-spokesperson for Sant Andreu. Candidates must secure 20% of endorsements before being proclaimed, and Junts expects to name its mayoral candidate on 21 June after a vote by members. For more on the party’s local coverage, see our Politics and Community pages.
