Alberto Santacruz
Mérida, January 2 (EFE).- The election of the Executive Board of the Assembly of Extremadura, scheduled for January 20, will allow us to know, beyond the expressed intentions, whether PP and Vox maintain a fluid dialogue and consensus on the future regional government or, on the contrary, and as already happened in 2023, represents a litmus test for both political formations.
This is the first step to recognize the reality of whether Extremadura is moving towards a coalition government between PP and Vox, with the popular María Guardiola at the helm as winner of the last elections, or whether the negotiations of both political formations are confused about the future of the investiture battalion.
Since the election on December 21, the PP has shown its total willingness to “talk about anything and with anyone” in order to end “the blockades”, alluding to Vox’s rejection of the budget project and the countless times in which Santiago Abascal’s party has not supported the parliamentary initiatives proposed by Guardiola’s executive.
Vox has already announced that his political party is ready if Guardiola “really wants a change”.
Its leader and candidate in the last elections, Óscar Fernández Calle, has also already announced that his demands remain the same: abolition of subsidies for international cooperation, gender ideology, unions and employers; among other things, repeal the LGTBI law and reject the Green Pact.
Above the table of possible denials between both parties is what happened in the days after the 2023 regional elections.
Guardiola claimed he would not govern with Vox advisers, a commitment he made during the election campaign and maintained during negotiations, in which he even declared he could not “let those who deny sexist violence into government.”
The PP called on Vox to support Guardiola’s appointment as chief executive and let her govern alone, and in return the popular parties would support the legislative chamber chaired by a Vox MP.
With this approach came the day the assembly board was constituted, June 20th. In the first vote, no one reached the required absolute majority of 33 parliamentarians.
In the second round – only a simple majority is required – the five deputies from Vox supported their candidate, the 28 from the PP supported their candidate and the deputy proposed by the PSOE, Blanca Martín, achieved the support of her 28 colleagues on the bench and the four from Unidas por Extremadura (Podemos and Izquierda Unida), which gave her the presidency of the assembly.
In addition to Blanca Martín, the Socialists nominated two more people (first vice-president and second secretary), the PP also nominated two more people (second vice-president and first secretary), and Unidas por Extremadura received the third secretary). Vox was left out.
Six days later, Martín began consultations with the political groups to propose the candidate for President of the Regional Government with fifteen days’ notice.
On June 30 of the same year, PP and Vox agreed on a coalition government chaired by Guardiola with a program of 60 measures in which Santiago Abascal’s party would receive a Ministry of Forest Management and Rural World. On July 14, 46 days after the regional elections, Guardiola was elected president.
Now, two and a half years after that date and just over a year and a half after Vox left the government of Extremadura, PP and Vox return to the starting box, namely the possibility of forming a joint executive or of Guardiola governing alone as long as the PSOE abstains.
The Socialists have not yet clarified whether this abstention fits within the framework of their ideals as long as Vox does not join the government. For its part, Óscar Fernández Calle’s party has gained parliamentary weight – from five deputies in 2023, it has increased to eleven – and its support for demands is much broader. EFE
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