The firm decision of María José Catalá not to seek the support of Vox for her investiture as mayor of Valencia or to integrate the extreme right into her future government (more in line with the decision of the PP from Extremadura than that of her colleague Carlos Mazón) suggests a complicated legislature in the consistory of cap i casal. Catalá has already indicated her intention to govern alone and, as this newspaper indicated, her commitment to distance herself from Vox also appealed to the PSPV and Compromís. It will depend on the opposition that the formation of Santiago Abascal does not participate in or influence the new course of the city.
However, as confirmed by the new occupants of the opposition bench, neither socialists nor nationalists have any intention of making things easier for him: “He will have to rely on Vox” they pointed to La Vanguardia. And they added “we are not going to whiten the PP”.
Although the two parties point out that on certain symbolic issues -such as the protection of women or the Gay Games- they will be on the side of the new mayoress, they see it as difficult for them to vote in favor on issues such as Urban Planning or the Treasury. And it is that in important matters the PP is not enough with a simple majority (read Vox’s abstention), but would need the support of this formation that left the investiture session very angry.
In the plenary session of the constitution of the consistory last Saturday, the municipal spokesman for Vox, Juanma Badenas, charged against Catalá for not counting on them and opting for an “amoral” and “partisan” government.
However, in Compromís and the PSPV they find it difficult to support the urban model of the city that Catalá is looking for, far from the projects that the Rialto Government has developed these eight years. Also in the fight against tourist apartments, where they bet on very different models. In this sense, they believe that there could be a paralysis in these areas, because if the two government partners already had differences in certain urban actions, supporting cases from outside that usually end up in court (either due to complaints from the opposition, or due to appeals from the companies that opt ??for its development) does not seem the most favorable scenario to find support.
Another thing will be in terms of the Treasury, where the promised tax cut of almost 70 million euros will surely not be supported by the left, but it will have the endorsement of Vox. Also in the preparation of the budgets (where Catalá needs Badenas again), there is more room to negotiate, so the PP could overcome the difficulties of its minority. Of course, they point from the ranks of the opposition, “to see if the ultra-right become the pagafantas of the PP.”
In the PSPV they are clear about it and they remember that the popular did not pitch in even in a pandemic when they did find the understanding of Ciudadanos to reach agreements. In Compromís, for their part, they do not close in on each other and are committed to playing “a useful role”, although they admit that given the obvious ideological differences, “the PP will have to look at Vox”.
Neither one nor the other quite believes that Catalá’s option is to hold out for the entire legislature in an unstable minority, so they do not rule out that, after the general elections on July 23, more stable agreements can be explored between the PP and the far right. “They can even find the excuse that we don’t make their day-to-day life easier,” they admit.
