Mayor March is mapping something else out: how to avoid a vote of no confidence. | E. Ballestero

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Following the ultimatum given to mayor Miquel Angel March and the Junts Avançam by the Unió Mollera Pollencina (UMP) that the Junts have ten days to form a "stable" administration at Pollensa town hall or face a vote of no confidence, the mayor has opened negotiations with the El Pi party.

March and other members of the Junts have met with leaders of El Pi but not with the councillor, Martí Roca. It was recommended by his party colleagues that he didn't take part in the meeting, and that was because there is a sub-plot which has its roots in the formation of El Pi as a Balearic political party. Roca was then a councillor for the former Lliga Regionalista (created by Jaume Font, now the leader of El Pi). Ever since, there has been some tension between him and others in El Pi who came from the one-time Convergencia, which was essentially a replacement for the Unió Mallorquina after that party had collapsed under the weight of corruption allegations it was facing.

What is happening, therefore, is a great deal of political manoeuvring. Roca would almost certainly support a vote of no confidence in March, but the Junts are looking to exploit El Pi tensions and have Roca expelled from the party. What this would mean under electoral law is that Roca would no longer be in a position to cast a vote of no confidence because he would not be a member of the party for which he received a mandate.

If the El Pi vote were to be ruled out, then the six councillors of the Junts plus two from the Alternativa per Pollença (which supports the Junts but isn't part of the administration) would cancel out the eight combined votes of Tots per Pollença (six), the UMP (one) and the Partido Popular (one).

March isn't only negotiating with El Pi. He is talking with the UMP to try and convince Andres Nevado to stay on board, but the relationship appears to have deteriorated to such an extent that this seems most unlikely.