He Congress of Deputies This week, you will experience a series of atypical days in terms of plenary times, with Tuesday’s session brought forward and Thursday’s session delayed. According to various parliamentary sources from EL ESPAÑOL, they detect that it is a maneuver by the president, Francine Armengolso that the new directors of RTVE will be appointed this week.
The new RTVE advisors will be appointed in two votes, one Tuesday and another Thursday, 48 hours apart, according to the decree approved by the Government on October 22. The calendar changes will allow Thursday’s vote, the last, to take place much earlier than if the usual calendars were respected.
According to several congressional workers and politicians, the only explanation they can find for this change is a maneuver to try to ensure that the 48-hour time difference is naturally respected and not to delay a vote that does not give a good image of the government. since it will share control of RTVE with its partners.
Sources from the presidency of the Congress assure, however, that this is because Thursday’s plenary session would be very long and that the objective is to prevent workers from Lower House They don’t need to double shifts. But this does not convince parliamentary sources.
A month ago, the government approved by decree a modification of the system of parliamentary elections of the Council of RTVE. Congress would elect 11 board members, instead of six, and the Senate would keep the four members it currently elects.
Additionally, the electoral system was changed. The decree specifies that the members of the Council will be elected by two-thirds majority during a first vote, a majority that the Executive does not possess. In the event of a blockade, as will be the case this Tuesday, A second vote would take place in 48 hours. later in which the absolute majority would be valid, which Moncloa has by including his partners in the distribution of directors.
Plenary session at 12:30 p.m.
This Tuesday, the plenary session of the Congress will begin at 12:30 p.m., instead of 3:00 p.m., as is customary. The first point that will be debated is the election of members of the RTVE Council and will be voted on at the end of the session. When this situation occurs, the vote will take place Tuesday before noon.
Since Congress is not expected to support Council members in this first vote, for which two-thirds of the votes are needed, the second vote should take place on Thursday, at least 48 hours later.
If the start of the session had not been brought forward, Congress would have to vote Thursday evening. But now, MPs will be able to vote much earliersince the 48 hours will have passed before lunchtime on Thursday.
On the other hand, Armengol also delayed the start of Thursday’s session. Sessions usually start at 9am on Thursday and this week they will start at 10am. Thus, it is ensured that the second vote of the RTVE Council can take place immediately after the other debates.
While it is true that many initiatives are being debated on Thursday, because some of those that were debated during the plenary session suspended two weeks ago by DANA were included (Armengol asked the groups to withdraw them, but not all of them ‘have not done) ), parliamentary sources do not give credibility to the argument that the amendment aims to prevent workers from working more hours.
Firstly because on Tuesday there are only two points of the day. This is a relatively short session and will finish before lunchtime. This advance will only cause an earlier vote on RTVE. Furthermore, while there are many issues to be discussed on Thursday, sources also see no point in starting the session later than usual.
Two weeks ago, on October 30, Armengol had already suspended the government control session while it was in progress due to the DANA result that occurred the day before. However, despite this decision, decided to hold the extraordinary session to validate the RTVE decree, which angered the opposition.
This week’s schedule advance will also influence the schedules of the Council of Spokespersons, the body where all groups are represented. This usually meets on Tuesdays at 12 p.m. and, after concluding, the spokespersons of the different groups hold press conferences which last until 2 p.m.
Now, with the changes, the Council of Spokespersons will meet this Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. and it is not certain if the spokespersons will appear at a press conference, as not everyone may don’t have time to do it before the start. . the plenary session at 12:30 p.m.
