The relationship between the Popular Party and Vox in Murcia is increasingly deteriorating, so much so that the two formations have not even sat down at a table to negotiate an agreement that unlocks the investiture of Fernando López Miras as president of the Region. Mutual reproaches and the demands of both put the people of Murcia in the direction of new regional elections at the end of October.
Yesterday morning a new opportunity was to be given to start a dialogue that would lead them to an understanding, although a new exchange of reproaches canceled the meeting. Vox’s demands are very clear, either a coalition government, or there is no agreement. Specifically, Santiago Abascal’s party claims a vice presidency and “an important part of the government areas.” Vox considers his entry into the regional government “fair and necessary” and it does not seem that he is going to move from this position.
The Popular Party, for its part, intends to govern alone and sees the demands of the ultra-right as “unacceptable”. “Vox does not want a coalition government, it wants a government of imposition,” warned the spokesman for the acting Government of the Region, Marcos Ortuño, on Thursday.
The popular spokesperson has defended in a press conference that the PP’s willingness to dialogue “is unquestionable”, and has addressed Vox to ask it “to reconsider its proposal”. “They are raising their demands,” criticized Ortuño, who has invited Abascal’s formation to “reflect.”
The current blockade scenario is leading Murcia towards new regional elections. On June 7, the PP candidate, Fernando López Miras, did not achieve an absolute majority in the first ballot due to the contrary votes of Vox, PSOE and Podemos. Three days later, on June 10, López Miras again obtained the refusal of the Regional Assembly, repeating the votes.
As of that day, a period of two months was opened – counting from the first vote on July 6 – to try to reach an agreement that allows the investiture. An abstention from Vox would already be enough to invest López Miras as president of the Board, but if no candidate achieved confidence within this period, new elections would be called in the Region of Murcia.
Both the PP and Vox accuse each other of leading the community to new elections. The popular spokesman in Murcia, Joaquín Segado, believes that Vox “wants to go to elections”, while the extreme right does not give in to its demands.
The deputy spokesman for Vox in the Murcia Assembly, Rubén Martínez, declared this Thursday that “this is not how a serious, solid and stable government is formed”, reproaching the PP for finding out “through certain media” of the time and content “of an alleged meeting”.
The last elections gave the Popular Party a clear victory, although insufficient. Of the 45 deputies that make up the Assembly, 21 were obtained by the PP, 13 by the PSOE, 9 by Vox and Podemos the remaining two. This scenario left the popular two deputies with an absolute majority, so a government pact was seen as the closest and most real option.
In other communities such as the Balearic Islands, Valencia or Extremadura, the government pact between the popular and Vox occurred more easily, despite the fact that, unlike the rest of the territories, in Murcia the PP only needs the abstention of the extreme right.
In Aragon, the Popular Party also needs the support of Vox to invest its candidate, Jorge Azcón. However, as Iván Espinosa de los Monteros confirmed yesterday, in Aragón “there have been no insults and, therefore, I suspect that things will be easier” than in Murcia. In addition, Azcón and Alejandro Nolasco, Vox’s leader in Aragón, met this Tuesday afternoon to exchange possible measures of the pact, so negotiations are already underway.
