Pilar Rubio (L), Charlotte Wilmot (R)

Following the resignation of Maribel Morales, councillor for tourism in April after disputes with the mayor Antonio Marin Lara, Charlotte Wilmot was informed that as next on the PSOE list she would be called up to head a delegation.

Politics in Spain doesn’t work quickly, and Charlotte wasn’t confirmed as councillor until the monthly meeting of the full council in May. The role of councillor for extranjeros and commerce creates a new delegation for foreigners of all nationalities in Ronda, and adds a lesser known delegation of commerce to Charlotte’s workload.

Charlotte is well known amongst both the expatriate and Spanish communities, having moved to Ronda 8 years ago, and married a Rondeño with whom she has two children. Charlotte learned Spanish at the School for Extranjeros (PIEE) and met her husband Jaime there, he was her teacher.

Last year Charlotte was selected amongst a handful of extranjeros in Andalucía to be featured on the show ‘Extranjeros en Andalucía’ hosted by one of Spain’s most popular TV presenters Pilar Rubio. However Charlotte says her proudest achievement is being a mum to Danielle and Santiago, and whose future is the reason she entered politics as a member of Ronda’s PSOE party.

In her new role as councillor Charlotte will be responsible for improving the integration efforts of the Ayuntamiento, between Rondeños and extranjeros, a process Charlotte describes as a two way project, helping extranjeros to understand Spanish bureaucracy and feel comfortable filling in forms, and at the same time encourage the learning of Spanish.

The approach sounds simplistic, and when asked, Charlotte admitted at this stage she just doesn’t know how the office of extranjeros will eventually shape up, this is a new experiment in Ronda, though it has been successfully trialed in other cities such as Mijas, Coin, or Marbella.

Foreign residents in Ronda of all nationalities, including British, Irish, German, French, Moroccan, and Central and South American nationalities will all be given equal preference for services, so Charlotte is keen to point out that whilst she is originally English, the integration of other nationalities is also her responsibility.

We asked what the new office for extranjeros plans to do in its first few months, and realistically what it can achieve before the next election when the possibility of a change of local government to the PP or a PP/PA coalition is a distinct possibility, Charlotte stated that the PSOE fully intends to retain the office if re-elected so the mayor is keen to see the office develop regardless of possible political changes.

The first two objectives of the office will be a survey to determine the needs of extranjeros of all nationalities, whilst the second priority is the compilation of a guide for extranjeros relating to essential services which it is hoped will be available in English and Spanish.

Regular readers of Ronda Today will know we have campaigned quietly within the Ayuntamiento for an office of foreigners, so Charlotte’s appointment is an exciting development, though of course foreign residents share some responsibility for helping to push for extra services such as original language films in local cinemas, cultural events for foreigners, and translation of essential information into the most common foreign resident languages.

Regarding the commerce portfolio, we asked Charlotte to explain her role, however this is more difficult for her because the role is clearly not perfectly understood within council crossing over several delegations as it does. This aside, the commerce delegation seems to have at its heart the growth of the central commercial district of Ronda, which at this stage primarily seems to be the promotion of Calle La Bola as Ronda’s main shopping street.

It seems moot to point out that Calle La Bola is Ronda’s only shopping street, and Charlotte is quick to point out that obvious observations aside, there is much work to do supporting the retailers of the central commercial district, and one plan calls for promotion of the street outside of Ronda, whilst her initial discussion with retailers suggests some would be receptive to council funded training of staff to improve customer care.

Time will tell if the new office for extranjeros and commerce will have time to be effective before the next municipal elections, and we’d be interested to know how PP or PA intend to handle extranjero integration, but as several Rondeños and long term foreign residents have pointed out, if the extranjero community doesn’t get behind the new office nothing will be achieved.

Ronda Today will continue campaigning for recognition from all political parties of the need for a strong office of extranjeros, and in the interim we ask that all our readers, both foreign resident and Rondeño please contact Charlotte with ideas or questions.

Polls suggest a close fight for the town hall

Polls undertaken by Sigma Dos in Ronda suggest the next municipal elections may not see a clear majority for any of the sitting parties forcing a coalition government, either a Marín Lara PSOE led leftist council, or Mari Paz Fernandez PP led centre-right council.

The current council is comprised seven PSOE councillors, four Partido Polular (PP) councillors, nine Partido Andalucista (PA), and one Izquierdo Unida (IU), though in mid 2009 Mayor Antonio Marín Lara and the remaining eight PA councillors crossed to the PSOE, giving the PSOE an overwhelming majority in the current council.

Their move wasn’t without controversy and lengthy legal moves by opposition parties to have them declared turncoat, as well as an investigation by the anti-turncoat monitoring commission, La Comisión de Seguimiento del Pacto Antitransfuguismo. The decision of the commission was that Mayor Lara and his eight former PA councillors had become turncoats and would need to be expelled from the PSOE, which would have forced them to stand as independents. The PSOE in Ronda disputed this citing the virtual collapse of the PA throughout Andalucía as offering an excuse for their actions, and thus refusing to expel the turncoats, most of whom are now expected to find top ranking places in the next PSOE list.

Nationally the PP has been polling well, and in Ronda too, though not enough to expect an outright PP victory in the local municipal election. The PP’s current spokesperson Mari Paz Fernandez is expected to lead the PP into the election riding on high personal approval ratings though sources within the PP indicate Ms Fernandez has considered standing down. Our expectation is that she has the support of the party faithful in Ronda and will remain until after the next election at which point we could see her leave politics altogether if the PP finds itself in opposition.

The PA have reformed in Ronda under Isabel Barriga and are looking very good for the next election, perhaps polling in third place behind the PP. Their isn’t much love between the PA and PSOE after Lara’s defection so its unlikely we’ll see a second PSOE/PA coalition; at least nobody in Ronda is expecting a Lara led PSOE to find favour with the current PA party faithful.

So, what are the polls suggesting for the next election? Well it’s a confusing picture and nothing seems certain, the PSOE led by Marín Lara is most likely to be the biggest party but polls are suggesting they could be two to three seats short of a majority, probably being returned with between seven and eight seats forcing Lara and the PSOE to enter a coalition with another party. Their natural coalition partners have been quite vocal about Lara and the other PA councillors joining the PSOE so a PSOE/IU coalition could be a hard bargain if it happens.

The PP by comparison could expect six or seven seats, not enough to even govern in minority, but certainly enough to form a government if they can enter a coalition with the PA who are expected to reclaim 5 seats. A PP/PA coalition would likely hold eleven or twelve seats, enough to block any PSOE led coalition from forming, though the real uncertainty comes from the Unión Progreso y Democracia (UDyP), a new national party formed with the goal of cleaning up Spanish politics.

In Ronda the UDyP is expecting to field a full list of candidates under María Jesús Becerra and could take one or two seats but nobody knows which of the existing parties will lose out most to UDyP given the controversy of Lara and his group joining the PSOE, or the sometimes vicious infighting the PP has seen. Nationally Prime Minister Zapatero has lost significant support, in complete contrast to the PSOE is Ronda, whilst the leader of the PP, Manuel Rajoy is enjoying a level of confidence that could easily bolster the hopes of PP faithful in Ronda.

Ronda is a small city, the town council is made up of just 21 councillors of all parties, and with such a close poll between PSOE and the PP, and the uncertainty of how many seats the PA and UDyP could take, we know the next municipal election is going to be interesting. It’s too early to make predictions, most of the parties haven’t yet confirmed their lists or who will lead them, but we could be looking at a PP led coalition if current polls are anything to go by.