With September comes the beginning of the course, as well as the political one. This will be the second year of Carlos Mazon at the head of the Generalitat Valenciana, a year that promises to be much more political and in which the president will be forced to negotiate and debate all the initiatives he wants to carry out.
Its main challenge, the approval of regional budgets, is something uncertain because after Vox left the Consell, it no longer has a parliamentary majority. Furthermore, from a national perspective, The agreement between the PSOE and the ERC to approve a single financing for Catalonia will mark the Valencian agenda.
The Valencian government has already announced that it will begin the legal battle against this Catalan concert if it is approved. Mazón, who has described this bilateral agreement as “unsupportive and unequal”, will focus much of his efforts on continuing to demand a fair financing system for the Valencian Community.
Valencia is the second autonomous region, after Murcia, that receives the least resources from the system. Specifically, according to the latest report from the Foundation for Economic Studies (Fedea), each Valencian receives 3,089 euros, or 276 less than the average and 865 less than the best financed, which is La Rioja.
While waiting for this system, which expired a decade ago, to be reformed, the Valencian Executive wants a levelling fund of around 1.7 billion euros on average per year to be approved, which compensates for the underfunding and puts the Valencian Community “on par” with the rest, in the words of the president himself.
Mazón with his presidential team this Tuesday
Precisely, Mazón is one of the barons summoned by the leader of the PP, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, September 6 to launch the major offensive against the Catalan quota. popular They believe that this new transfer to Catalonia is more than an economic privilege. They denounce that it is an “illegitimate attempt” to promote “a change of the Constitution through the back door.”
The second point of the summit will be to agree on a common position to reform the regional financing system. In this regard, Mazón’s position is clear: he will defend the Valencian “singularity”, understood as a “leveling to be equal” and not as “a singularity to separate us from others or break what belongs to others”, as he explained in a recent interview.
Government without Vox
In a Valencian tone, the beginning of Mazón’s career will be marked by the first steps of his minority government. Last July, the national leadership of Vox unilaterally decided to break all the autonomous coalitions it had with the PP and the three Vox councilors of the Generalitat Valenciana left their positions.
Mazón, in a matter of hours, reorganized his executive and appointed new councilors, making it clear that calling early elections was not part of his plans. He then assured that the Consell “is above any partisan decision” and stressed that the objective remains “to govern so that change continues.”
Their first big challenge will be to approve their second regional budgets. With the great unknown of what will happen Voicewhich has already drawn its red lines, linked to immigration.
In any case, the Valencian Executive has confirmed its willingness to present them “on time”, that is, before October 31. They will then begin negotiations with all the groups. With its former partners, but also with it PSPV and compromisean agreement that seems more difficult to obtain because of the oppositional tone of the left.
The new Council after the departure of Vox. EE
In fact, until now, the PP has led practically all parliamentary initiatives in bloc with Vox. The latest example is the five common laws approved just days before the dissolution. Among them, the controversy Law of Concord which now faces an unconstitutional appeal from the central government.
The group popular It has 40 deputies and will therefore need the support of at least nine additional parliamentarians to move forward with the accounts. The abstention of Vox (13) would not be enough, because the left bloc has 46 against 40 for the PP.
“We hope that all parties, including Vox, will prioritize the interests of the Valencian Community and support these budgets if they really want the well-being of our citizens,” they assured from the PP.
In case they do not materialize, according to the Minister of Finance, Ruth Merinoconsider the scenario of their expansion, even if it is not the first option.
Carlos Mazón before a plenary session of the Corts
“With enthusiasm”
The President met this week in Alicante with Steering Committee of the Presidency of the Generalitat coordinate the lines of action of the Consell in the coming months.
Mazón stressed that the Council “faces the new political course with enthusiasm and determination to continue advancing in the change that the citizens of the Valencian Community deserve.”
Thus, he stressed that the Valencian Executive “will continue working to improve the lives of the people of Castellón, Valencians and Alicante by promoting social policies such as health, education and social services.”
Another of the keys that stands out is the defense of Valencian interests in water, infrastructure and immigration issuesin addition to financing.
