The approval of the Balearic Budgets for next year is complicated for President Marga Prohens after her Vox partners caused the accounts to fall in the committee debate this Thursday. Vox has abstained from voting on various sections, including the accounts of the Department of Education, and has caused them to disappear from the budget. The Parliament’s lawyers have warned that the fall of one section implies the fall of the entire budget so, at the moment, waiting for what happens in next week’s plenary session, Prohens must extend the accounts of Francina Armengol.
The PP hopes to be able to recover all the sections that have fallen in the debate in committee and has presented individual votes that must be debated in next week’s plenary session. However, Vox announced that it is raising its demands to approve the accounts since, at this time, its abstention would not be enough but it must vote ‘yes’ for the accounts to go ahead. This is what happened in committee, that abstention has brought down the accounts.
Prohens entered the Government with the abstention of Vox since in the May elections he obtained one more deputy than the entire opposition. However, circumstances have changed because Formentera deputy Llorenç Córdoba, a member of the conservative sa Unió coalition, has broken relations with the PP and his vote is no longer guaranteed. This circumstance has increased Prohens’ dependence on Vox, which has recognized that Córdona’s vote is up in the air.
With this new political situation, the spokesperson for Vox in the Parliament, Idoia Ribas, announced this morning that the affirmative vote on the budgets will only be given if amendments are incorporated to the text that the PP has so far rejected. Vox requests an initial allocation of 20 million euros to implement a pilot plan for language choice in classrooms at all educational stages, but now demands a renegotiation of all budgets.
Among the new demands is the elimination of all aid to unions and business entities, a reduction in personal income tax, 30% deductions on housing rentals up to 360,000 euros, 40% deductions on expenses for the care of dependent people, deductions in positions that are difficult to fill and an increase in the minimum exemption from wealth tax from 750,000 to 3 million euros.
Vox insists that the circumstances of its support have changed and regrets that the Prohens Government has not negotiated the accounts until now. “Vox can abstain, but in no case can it vote in favor of policies not previously agreed upon,” he said in reference to the change of parliamentary majorities.
Vox is not considering demanding entry into the Balearic Government for now despite this change of majority. The Balearic Islands were the only autonomous community in which the members of Santiago Abascal’s party did not enter the autonomous government after the pacts after the May 28 elections. “If we do not participate in the design of the Government’s action, Vox cannot vote ‘yes’ because it would be a betrayal of its 62,000 voters,” insisted Ribas, who has asked Prohens for a change of attitude.
