The current Consell led by Carlos Mazón has its days numbered. From the president’s appearance, expected on November 15, the clock on remodeling begins to tick. The parliamentary session was scheduled for Thursday, November 14, but was postponed due to a new red alert due to severe storms. The Valencian president is then expected to draw the lines of a new executive, in an attempt to establish a firewall for those calling for his resignation. Mazón wants to open a new scene and changing the pieces is the key.
At the Generalitat Valenciana it is assumed that the popular baron will hand over the head of the Minister of Justice and competent for emergencies, Salomé Pradas. No one defends her in public or private. It’s as if she no longer existed since October 29: she does not speak publicly and is not mentioned. Questioned about it, she is designated as responsible for the decisions taken at Cecopi (Integrated Operational Coordination Center) since Tuesday, which resulted in an alert sent late, when the water flooded the municipalities of Horta Sud, sends l ‘Executive. message that saves Mazón: “The president is not part of Cecopi (…) We should not expect him to be president. » Even if he was expected on Tuesday the 29th afternoon, even if he was informed of the decisions, even if he attended the meetings, even if the law gives him sole command in the disaster. This statement underlines an idea: that it is the Minister of Justice who should have decided. With Pradas, his team will fall, at least the one directly responsible for emergencies, headed by regional secretary Emilio Argüeso.
Another councilor on whom pressure is increasing is Nuria Montes, responsible for Tourism and Industry. He is accused of an absolute lack of empathy towards the victims in extremely delicate moments. He said in a video released by his team: “The bodies will not be handed over to the families here, family members will not be allowed access”, in reference to the Feria Valencia, where the victims are identified. Later, an employee of her department denounced in tears, live on Ana Rosa’s show, that she had not even taken the trouble to inquire about her deceased relatives at DANA and that she had offered the official car. Reported by right-wing media headlines, it appears he could be on the exit ramp.
Some sources within the Executive wonder whether he should abandon him for what they consider to be a mistake, while they do not consider his management to be bad. He apologized after his controversial statements. Montes was one of Mazón’s great recruits, coming from the Benidorm Hotel Association (Hosbec), as a tourism expert, very focused on the mass model of the Alicante coast. During the pandemic, she used part of a grant from the Provincial Delegation of Alicante to pay her salary as general secretary of the hotel association: 37,000 euros.
It is possible that Finance Minister and spokesperson Ruth Merino will also undergo changes. In recent weeks she has only appeared once, accompanied by Vice President Susana Camarero, who is also secretary of the Consell and member of Cecopi. The head of the Treasury is focusing on adapting public accounts and processing immediate aid to those affected. Although he doesn’t work easily as a spokesperson in complex moments, this Treasury technique is good with numbers. It is nevertheless striking that the three people interviewed are three women and that a question of incapacity is highlighted in both cases.
Sell the reconstruction
The Valencian executive is trying to turn the page on the tragedy and direct the debate on reconstruction. This is the word used in all circles of the Consell. The restructuring that aims to save Mazón focuses on this line: a department responsible for steering these issues, with the rank of presidency, or an advisor without portfolio to develop and channel the work on the areas concerned. It is said that the vice president, Susana Camarero, the most solvent in the regional executive – she has been responsible for acting as spokesperson and executing emergency contracts – could take on more responsibilities. It was she who declared that work was underway to adapt the Consell to a “new reality”.
It is also possible that the departments of the Consell are renamed to focus them on this new discursive phase, which aims to mark a before and after within the Executive, even if it is chaired by the same person, ultimately responsible account of appointments and distribution. of powers. It was Mazón who entrusted the emergencies to Vox and then placed Pradas and Argüeso in the renovation.
According to El Periódico de Catalunya, the national PP tried to place former councilor Gerardo Camps in this new composition. The aforementioned newspaper publishes that Alberto Núñez Feijóo expressed to Mazón his interest in this politician, currently senator. This Wednesday he kissed the PSOE senator and mayor of Paterna, Juan Antonio Sagredo, in the Upper House, as a peace offer, interpreted as a gesture.
In reality, reconstruction after DANA will depend on the Spanish government. Mazón asked the Central Executive for 31.4 billion euros, the equivalent of an annual budget of the Generalitat Valenciana, to face this task. Although he has asked that ministers work under the orders of their advisers in five working groups, his government has so far only committed 300 million euros for this task.
