After two years of comings and goings, civil wars and temporary positions, RTVE has a new president. Congress elected this Thursday Jose Pablo Lopezformer content director of the Company, as the new head of the organization with the votes of the government and investiture partners, thus culminating a long paralysis within the board of directors of the public channel.
López, elected in the second round after failing last Tuesday, is the first president appointed with the new voting system approved a month ago. He only needed 178 votes (PSOE, Sumar, Podemos, ERC, Bildu, Junts and PNV, BNG and Canarian Coalition), less than any candidate before him. If the previous procedure was still in effect, it would have failed again.
According to the new electoral system of RTVE, to obtain the presidency at the first opportunity, a majority of two thirds (233 votes) of Congress. This threshold having not been reached, a second vote was agreed 48 hours later, Thursday, and that the absolute majority (176 votes) assured by the Government and its partners would be sufficient.
The new formula also lowers the parliamentary majorities needed to elect members of the RTVE board of directors, from 10 to 15.
In other words, if until now the Congress elected 6 members and the Senate 4, with the new decree the Congress elects 11 and the Senate 4. In this way, the Government opens the door to its investiture partners, it avoids the absolute majority of the PP in the Upper House and ensures that it always has control of the Society.
José Pablo López, who has experience as director of Telemadrid and content director of RTVE, was fired six months ago from the public entity due to the contract David Broncano and the program The revoltof which he was its main supporter. From now on, ERC, Junts, PNV and Podemos will have a representative on the council and will be able to influence their information line.
Throughout the process, the socialists insisted that the new Council will be “the most plural in history” and will put an end to a stage of “instability and blockage” of the PP, which compromised the normal functioning of public radio and television. The popular, for their part, criticized the process as an “aggression”.
The advisors
Among the names of the 11 candidates for municipal councilor positions are journalists such as Angelique Rubioregular collaborator of laSexta and former general director of Information Coordination of the Secretariat of State for Communication with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. She is currently director of The plural.
Also included Esther de la Matacurrent director of communications for the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños.
Also among the PSOE’s proposals are the singer-songwriter and former socialist councilor at Madrid City Hall Rosa LeonAnd Mercedes de Pablosformer director of Radio Canal Sur from 1996 to 2000. De Pablos She also managed other media and was appointed member of the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia representing the PSOE between 2005 and 2010.
Sergi Sol is the ERC quota. He was responsible for communications for Oriol Junqueras when he was vice-president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, during the process. dSince 2020, he has collaborated in different media such as El Nacional.catTV3, La Sexta or Catalunya Radio. He was also a member of the Advisory Council of RTVE (Catalonia) between 2008 and 2013.
The Junts quota, for its part, represents Miquel Calçada, alias Mikimotoknown face of TV3 who appeared on the lists of Junts pel Sí (the independence coalition of Convergència and ERC) in 2015. As for the PNV, its candidate is Maria Roncesvallesformer director of EiTB, Basque public radio and television.
Sumar, minority partner in the government coalition, proposed has Maria Therese Martinlinked to the Workers’ Commissions, as well as the journalist Marthe Ribasformer deputy of the Parliament of Catalonia for Esquerra Unida i Alternativa.
The name of Podemos is Mariano Muniesa de Cavedacollaborator of Canal Rouge. He has produced various programs on Onda Verde, on Cadena 100; at Los 40 Principales and RNE. On television, he presented rock programs on Onda 6.
After the 11 names selected by Congress, there are still four candidates to be nominated by the Senate, where the PP has an absolute majority.
