Is there anything to value or celebrate? Not even its protagonists have. On May 28, 2023, San Bartolomé de Tirajana once again lived up to its status as a municipality ungovernable by its own majority. A place where pacts aren't signed, they are survived. The election result, as on other occasions, was a picture of unstable balance: four political forces with sufficient representation to block a deal, but insufficient to govern without assistance.
The PP-AV, Coalición Canaria, PSOE and Nueva Canarias–Frente Amplio Canarista shared the council seats almost equally, with the PP-AV and CC in the lead (7 councillors each), the PSOE behind (6) and NC-FAC as the fourth leg (5). The total number of seats: 25. The absolute majority: 13. And the atmosphere: a permanent déjà vu.
Nothing in San Bartolomé happens by chance. Not the results, not the pacts, not the silences. Key decisions tend to be made closer to Las Palmas than to the City Council, and it's not unusual for the names of the future government to be leaked through the register of interests before being revealed to local spokespersons. There's a lot at stake: tourism, urban planning, licenses, water. And when there's so much to share, no one walks away empty-handed, but everyone has to give something up.
In that scenario, the government that emerged after the 28M referendum was a marriage of convenience, tied more by arithmetic than by ideas. A half-hearted pact, sustained by the need for someone to sign the decrees and convene the plenary sessions. Two years later, it's still there. It's staying afloat. But governing, properly governing, hasn't been the priority.
Saint Barthélemy doesn't just need agreements. It needs leadership. Vision. The ability to resolve and decide. Because while the parties keep an eye on each other, the coast remains saturated, traditional centers are emptying, and the big issues—residence, mobility, energy—remain waiting.
Local politics has fallen into a kind of bureaucratic power structure: it's managed without intruding, legislation is passed without debate, and elections are convened without an agenda. And so, election after election, the Canary Islands' most tourist-friendly municipality becomes a stage where everyone wins a little... and no one changes anything.
