‘No topic is off the table’: the Spanish mayor hearing voters out over dinner

Michel Montaner visits a different constituent at their home most nights to gain a better feel for people’s concerns

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.”