The PSOE and its partners completed their assault on RTVE this Thursday, approving in the Congress of Deputies, during a second vote, the appointment of the 11 new administrators of the company.
The list of directors was approved by 179 votes for and none against. MPs from the PP and Vox did not participate in the vote, to protest against the change in the council’s appointment system.
The 11 names were agreed by the PSOE with the rest of the parties in the investiture bloc, in order to ensure control of public radio and television. The board of directors will be completed by the four advisors who must now be appointed by the Senate (where the PP has an absolute majority).
The vote took place by summons: the deputies went one by one to the Congress podium to give Francina Armengol their ballot paper with the 11 names proposed. Six deputies exercised telematic voting.
Just a few hours after the torrential rains which have already caused more than 200 deaths in Valencia, the President of Congress, Francina Armengol, forced on October 30 the debate and approval of the decree which modifies the election system of the RTVE board of directors.
Thanks to this rule, the number of directors of the public company increases from 10 to 15: the Congress of Deputies appoints 11 and the Senate only four.
Once the decree was validated, the plenary session of the Lower House voted on Tuesday the appointment of its 11 advisors. However, the proposal was not adopted, because in the first vote a two-thirds supermajority of the House was required.
Despite The PP and Vox deputies decided to leave the roomthe investiture bloc only managed to gather 174 votes in favor. In Thursday’s vote, the government only needed an absolute majority of 176 votes.
Among the names chosen by the PSOE and its partners, he is considered the most likely president of the RTVE council Jose Pablo Lopezwho was previously the company’s chief content officer, until he was removed by the former president, Elena Sanchezdue to disagreements over the signing of David Broncano’s program.
Previously, he was general director of TeleMadrid (under the direction of Cristina Cifuentes), worked at 13TV (the network of the Episcopal Conference) and was part of the legal office of La Sexta.
Among the rest of the councilors, the PSOE also appointed singer-songwriter Rosa León Conde (who was PSOE advisor to Madrid City Hall during the Zapatero era), Esther de la Mata (until now press chief for Minister Félix Bolaños), Angelique Rubio (digital director The plural) And Mercedes by Pablos Candon (who was PSOE advisor to the Seville City Council, as a member of the candidacy of Juan Espadas, after developing his work as a journalist for Canal Sur and other media).
For his part, Sumar named Marthe Ribas (who was an ICV deputy) and Maria Teresa Martín del Caz (who was general secretary of CCOO on RTVE), while Podemos appoints Mariano Muniesa Caveda (journalist specializing in the history of rock, today contributor to Network log directed by Pablo Iglesias).
Eventually, Junts proposed to the television producer Miquel Calçadasays Mikimoto (who developed a good part of his work at TV3, before being Junts’ candidate for Parliament and the Senate), ERC for Sergi Sol (who was chief of staff of Oriol Junqueras to the Vice-Presidency of the Generalitat) and the PNV for Maria Solana (who was Minister of Education in the Navarrese Government, appointed by Geroa Bai).
After the plenary session this Thursday, the Senate will appoint its four representatives to the RTVE board of directors, all four on the proposal of the PP.
They are Ignacio Ruiz-Jarabo (who was director of the Tax Agency and president of SEPI under the Aznar government), Eladio Jareño (who was director of RTVE during Rajoy’s time), Marina Vila (with a long career as a journalist in the company) and Ruben Moreno (who served as PP health spokesperson and president of the National Transplant Organization).
