The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, assured this Tuesday in Valencia that it would be irresponsible to call early elections in the Valencian Community. “We are in a process of recovery (after the dana of October 2024) and an electoral process would generate more problems than solutions. We should exhaust the legislative power,” declared the president Valencian in a new edition of Encuentros SER, organized at L’Oceanogràfic in Valencia. Regarding the MP’s request for files former president Carlos Mazón for the management of the dana, his successor assured that he had taken responsibilities upon his resignation and that when the judicial investigation is completed, the appropriate measures will be adopted. “What a president of the Generalitat cannot do is make a personal decision without taking into account the statutes of the party. We must be very respectful of the schedules and the rules. The minutes are not given by the party but by popular sovereignty”, he stressed.
The recently inaugurated Valencian president assured, in relation to the associations of victims of dana, that he had had cordial conversations with the three best known, and with others. And he stressed that the important thing is to open channels of communication with them, because he is convinced, understanding their pain and resentment, that “over time we can turn this frustration into dialogue.” Regarding what happened on October 29 last year, Pérez Llorca admitted that “we were not prepared for a tragedy of great magnitude. I think that the warning systems were not sufficient. We could not foresee the dimensions of this tragedy and many errors were then triggered.”
The head of the Consell stressed that he would like the changes of presidency (he will assume it) and general secretary of the Valencian PP to take place before Christmas “and that the activity of the party can resume. “In a few days this will be resolved, I have a plan”, he stressed. Pérez Llorca added, however, that holding a congress of the Valencian PP “is not a priority for me. I don’t have a planned date, I think there are more important things to face than a congress,” he said.
Regarding the candidacy of the former president of the Generalitat Francisco Camps at the head of the PPCV, he declared that he “admires his optimism” when he assures (in an interview with a media) that he wants to be a candidate to recover the absolute majority and make Vox disappear. He also expressed his respect for Camps.
As for Vox, which facilitated its inauguration with its votes, Pérez Llorca stressed that it was the only political force that wanted to reach agreements and called on the PSPV and Compromís to reflect because it is in favor of them being represented in the regional television council in Punt or in the Council of Valencian Cortes, but it is also necessary that they unlock the renewal of statutory institutions such as the Consell Jurídic Consultiu, the unions of Greuges et de Comptes, or the Valencian Academy of Language.
Regarding his agreements with the far-right party, Pérez Llorca boasted of not having signed any private document and his program was transparently defended in his inauguration speech to the Cortes. He recognized that irregular immigration is a problem for Valencian and Spanish society and asked for flexibility in the application of climate change mitigation policies, in which he believes, so that they do not affect farmers, for example. “I do not agree with such demanding demands,” he added. He also clarified that Vox is not his partner, “they support me but are not part of my government. And the PSPV and Compromís can knock on the door at any time.”
Pérez Llorca also shared his differences with Vox. “He defends state structures that I do not share. I am a defender of autonomous communities and deputations,” he declared, while not agreeing to push the levels of ultra-formation requirements to the extreme, because he considers himself a “centrist, somewhat liberal and somewhat regionalist” politician.
Accustomed to speaking normally in Valencian, the Valencian president admitted to having an ongoing conversation with the president of the Valencian Academy of the Language, Veronica Cantó: “I am a defender of the AVL because we must respect all institutions because they end up being discredited and that is very dangerous.” However, he recognized that it should be more flexible and adapt more to the existing reality. “The Valencian spoken is not the same in La Ribera or l’Horta and sometimes I have the feeling that if you don’t speak normative Valencian you are making a mistake,” he added.
Pérez Llorca also explained an upcoming meeting with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for which there is still no date, which will require “coordination” to face the reconstruction of the territory devastated by the dana. He criticized the fact that politicians are fighting while the people affected by this tragedy need help and have not yet returned to normality. Other questions that will be asked to the President of the Government during the meeting will be infrastructure, financing reform, the regularity of FLA payments or the approval of certain investments assumed by the Generalitat and which have generated debt.
Defense of Ribera Salud and criticism of the PSOE by Salazar
Pérez Llorca defended the management of the Ribera Salud company of the Vinalopó Hospital, in Elche, and its health area. “Today, it is more than proven that public-private collaboration is essential for universal access to health care. Without them, it would be very difficult to maintain health,” he insisted. He also clarified that the managers of the concession of the said hospital center, managed by Ribera Salud, largely meet the conditions.
The head of the Consell described as “serious” and “worrying” the fact that Valencian PSOE leaders Pilar Bernabé and Rebeca Torró were able to cover up the alleged case of sexual harassment by former socialist leader Paco Salazar of two party members. He recalled that it was first of all José Luis Ábalos, in temporary prison for the Koldo affairand “now there have appeared the Government Delegate to the Community and Secretary for Equality of the PSOE, Pilar Bernabé, and the Secretary of Organization of the PSOE, Rebeca Torró, who “seem to be covering up” the facts of which Salazar is accused. “It is serious and worrying,” he said, adding that he was surprised that these events “were not brought to the attention of the public prosecutor’s office.”
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