The president of Cantabria, María José Sáenz de Buruaga (PP), announced this Wednesday the dismissal of two of her advisers in a press conference without questions. The opacity of communication has been a recurring theme in his first year in office, but now, in his first government crisis, he has taken it to its maximum, avoiding submitting to the task of monitoring power entrusted to journalists.
This Wednesday morning, the Regional Executive notified the press of the urgent call, with only one hour’s notice, for the appearance of the president to “inform the Government of the measures to this effect”, an announcement that foreshadowed changes and crises within it, also taking into account that the administrators concerned had been labeled “removable” for some time.
Thus, Buruaga held a press conference in which he announced the changes he had decided to make at the head of Culture, Tourism and Sports, as well as Rural Development, Livestock and Fisheries, and as soon as he concluded After his speech, which lasted just over ten minutes, he immediately turned around and left under the incredulous gaze of the journalists present in the room.
“There are no questions?” The media professionals asked the government communications officials. The negative response was only accompanied by a two-page file with the CVs of the new councilors and a notice to photojournalists that the official photograph of the new Government Council would take place a few minutes later.
It was not possible to ask the president why these areas were affected and not others. Nor why, if his intention – as he said – is to attract “investment and talent,” the changes are happening in livestock and cultivation, and not in the economy or industry and employment. And if “the teams are constantly being examined,” it was not possible to ask what the dismissed managers consider to be “suspended.”
Instead, Buruaga became an “escapee” president in front of some journalists present who, if they had announced themselves before, could have saved the trip and followed the appearance through the streaming broadcast made by the Regional Executive on its official channels given the impossibility of asking questions and carrying out their work normally.
Opacity and lack of transparency
This “modus operandi” is in line with the communication strategy adopted by the Cantabrian government of the PP during its first year in office, especially by the president, whose public appearances have been rare, with the aggravating circumstance that, in addition, in theory, she occupies the position of spokesperson for the Executive, as she herself confirmed during the distribution of powers and the election of the members of her cabinet.
In this sense, Buruaga has offered almost no press conferences to report on the agreements adopted in the weekly meetings of the Government Council, as was the usual practice in previous legislatures. Only six months ago, he announced a shock plan in favor of independents, which has not yet been fully implemented to this day.
And if this Wednesday the head of the regional Executive chose to escape the journalists, a day before adopting a tactic similar to that of Rajoy’s famous “plasma” to announce the recourse of the Cantabrian government to the amnesty law: she did not summon the The press and the communication service sent the media a note, an audio and a video of Buruaga to the audience as if he were appearing at a press conference.
And the public appearances of the president and her advisors are mainly limited to meetings with mayors, inaugurations of public works and participation in events, festivals and fairs of all kinds, but they almost never take place in the press room of the headquarters of the Government of Cantabria in Peña Herbosa in front of the media to report on the political work carried out or answer current issues.
The daily agenda, except for the occasions mentioned above, is totally unknown. Weeks can go by without journalists knowing what some of the Cantabrian Executive’s advisors are doing.
Furthermore, access to information through consultations with the Government’s communication services is increasingly restricted, which makes the daily information work of media professionals difficult. In most cases, requests remain pending, and in others, there are reports of refusal to collaborate or to comment on the subject in question, although it is related to their field and they are competent in this area.
The gap between the regional executive and the press is such that the president and her PP advisers refuse even to grant interviews. This media outlet has tried unsuccessfully to obtain an interview with Buruaga and his advisers throughout the year on numerous occasions. Only the Minister of Education, Sergio Silva, was in office at the beginning of the legislature. Since then, no other interview has been granted: “No for the moment, thank you”, is one of the last responses received from a councilor’s office. Without further explanation or indication of an estimated date for carrying it out.
This formula follows the path of the electoral campaign of the Popular Party of Cantabria in the last regional elections, with María José Sáenz de Buruaga as candidate, who used the same strategy of invisibility, avoiding interviews or electoral debates as much as possible and with which he managed to regain power after eight years in opposition.
