It began with a tweet in October. “I would like to have dinner at your home. I’ll bring dessert.” What followed was an avalanche of invitations, sending Michel Montaner knocking on the door of complete strangers most nights of the week.
“I ring their doorbell and say: ‘Hi, I’m the mayor,’” Montaner told the Guardian. “I turn up alone, no police, no advisers.”
The politician, who has been mayor of the small town of Xirivella in eastern Spain since 2015, came up with the initiative in the hope of gaining a better feel for voters’ concerns in the town of 31,000 before municipal elections in May. But after dining with more than 60 people in recent weeks, he’s been surprised at their eagerness to share their tribulations and triumphs as they tuck into potato-laden tortillas and plates of marbled jamón.
“The actual dinner is rather symbolic, as I usually just have a salad and a sandwich. But the important thing is that they invite me into their homes,” he said. “And once we’re in this setting of trust and intimacy, the walls come down and people really tell me what’s on their minds.”
Monday to Friday, schedule permitting, he arrives at his host’s house at 9pm, bearing a cake or a plate of sweets procured from a rotating list of local bakeries. With the tone of the encounter explained in his initial tweet – “I want to speak to you and your family about Xirivella. No topic is off the table” – the conversation often stretches into the early hours of the morning.
Some of his hosts have deep roots in the area, others have immigrated from countries such as Ukraine or Bulgaria. He has been treated to meals that range from pickled partridge to pork wellington by families and groups of friends. At times the formula has varied: recently a group of twentysomethings took him to a bar; next month he has plans with a local priest.
He keeps careful track of what people tell him, scribbling detailed notes in a book he brings with him. Residents have plied him with proposals, from a new auditorium to expanding a municipal gym, as well as politely proffered criticisms, such as improvements that could be made to street cleaning operations or maintenance of the town’s green spaces. “I really appreciate that,” he said. “I don’t want to hear all good stuff, then you know it’s not real.”
The conversation often spans more than municipal issues. “People tell me about their personal problems, their family issues or issues with education. They totally open up,” he said. “In all honesty, I never know what I’m going to find, but I’ve met some really wonderful families.”
The initiative has proven popular with residents – Montaner’s dinner calendar is fully booked until March.
“There are people who have said to me: but aren’t you afraid to show up like that, alone, with no police, no advisers?” He waved off the concerns, saying the dinners have been free from the political polarisation that has dominated Spanish news headlines.
Instead, he has become convinced the initiative could play a potent role in building bridges. “Imagine if the 8,600 mayors in Spain – or the mayors in England or France – all went to dinner, not every night but maybe once a month, at a neighbour’s house,” he said. “It would lower the tension, the anger, and people would really get to know their representatives.”