Mazón places a liberal voice to explain the agreements of the Valencian Government with Vox

Ruth Merino will be the new face and voice of the Consell. The former trustee of Ciudadanos in Les Corts Valencianes will be the new spokesperson for the Valencian Government. Merino replaced Toni Cantó until his fright – later she would also leave the parliamentary group to sign for the PP and now she will be in charge of explaining, every week, the coalition government agreements that PP and Vox have just shaped.

The president of the Generaltiat, Carlos Mazón, has already signed Merino for his lists for Valencia in his strategy to bring together the entire center-right vote and stay -as he did- with the majority of the 470,000 votes that Cs achieved in 2019. Now the boss of the Consell has entrusted him with the task of publicly defending the positions of the Valencian Government, a responsibility that in the last legislatures was held by the leaders of Compromís Mónica Oltra and Aitana Mas.

Merino has always defended his liberal postulates both economically and in matters related to individual freedom. In addition, in his interventions in Les Corts she was always very harsh with the Botànic, but she did not spare criticism of the PP, whom she recalled some episodes of corruption, for which she has ended up signing.

Already when he presented his resignation as spokesman for Ciudadanos, he did so with harsh criticism of the leadership of his party and hinting that they would not have to appear at the regional elections.

But the spokesperson (the secretary of the Consell remains with the second vice president, Susana Camarero), will not be the only competence that Merino assumes. She will be the first Minister of Finance in the history of the Valencian Community, a position that always generates tensions between the different ministers due to the distribution of funds. There is a saying that is always brought up when budgets are negotiated: All governments are in coalition between the Ministry of Finance and the rest.

To the Treasury, Merino also adds Economy, which during the eight years of the Botànic had a separate department. In addition, he assumes Public Administration, a matter that requires permanent negotiation with the unions and that Vox wanted to retain in the Department of Justice. Finally, in this fight the extreme right has not gotten away with it.

Both Merino and the second vice president of the Consell, the historic leader of the PP Susana Camarero, are emerging as the two women with the most power in the regional Executive.