The 'president' of the Valencian Generalitat, Ximo Puig (in the background) and the vice-president Mónica Oltra, upon their arrival at a control session of the Corts de Valencia, on April 7. rober solsona (Europa Press)
The earthquake has been unleashed in the Generalitat Valenciana.
The president of the autonomous government, the socialist Ximo Puig, has been meditating since the end of last week to make changes among the socialist positions that sit at the Consell table.
Predictably, he will announce them before the end of this week, but this Wednesday one of the advisers appointed by Compromís (partners of the progressive government together with socialists and Podem), has come forward and has presented his resignation as Minister of Education.
Puig had encouraged the Compromís coalition to also face changes among its councilors in order to give the Valencian Government a boost before the last year of the legislature.
The coalition led by Mónica Oltra, in principle, did not take the hint, but this Wednesday it has given the surprise.
Vicent Marzà is leaving the Government as Minister of Education, Culture and Sports and will dedicate himself fully to his party, Més Compromís (which is part of the Compromís coalition), precisely for the regional elections of 2023. In his farewell, Marzà has claimed the progressive pact of legislature and has described as "essential" the consolidation of "a third Botànic" that prevents the return of the right to the Valencian Government.
Marzà's resignation is an incentive for Puig to undertake an important remodeling, with which to offer new faces and desire, and face the end of the mandate.
In addition, this exit and the changes among the socialist councilors increase the pressure on the first vice president, Mónica Oltra.
The trigger, however, has been the resignation of the spokesman for the socialist group in the Valencian Courts, Manolo Mata, a lawyer for the main plotter of the corrupt scheme Azud who, allegedly, distributed bribes to both the PP and the PSPV.
The fact that Mata combined the spokesperson and the defense of the businessman, despite being legal, sparked criticism from the opposition.
At first, Puig defended the dichotomy because "the legislation clearly allows for a complementarity between the public and private space", but, later, once the secrecy of the case summary was lifted and Mata decided to resign, the president applauded the decision. resignation: "There was a conflict of interest that had to be resolved."
The eyes were then fixed on Oltra, for whom a judge has requested the imputation for, presumably,
In this troubled context, the Minister of Justice, Gabriela Bravo, with whom Oltra has had more than one confrontation, added fuel to the fire this Tuesday.
The socialist part of the Valencian Government has always defended Oltra's decision to remain in office.
Even Puig has expressed his "confidence" in the vice president and has always referred to the "repeated explanations" that he has given in parliament.
However, Bravo suggested that Oltra should resign: "Of course, in a situation, beyond criminal responsibilities, in which I could compromise the credibility of the institution I represent, I would plan it."
Her words have provoked a barrage of criticism among the members of Compromís in defense of the vice president and have further strained relations with the Socialists.
"I would never put Mrs. Bravo as an example of institutional loyalty," said the mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, from Compromís.
“It is not a message to anyone, it is a personal opinion”, Puig added.
But the fire is kept alive thanks to other fuels as well.
Marzà is not just any member of Compromís.
He belongs to the extinct Bloc and his relationship with the vice president (who comes from Initiative) has always been tense, both politically and personally.
Some sources among the government partners also interpret Marzà's departure as a wake-up call to Oltra to make a move.
In addition, the still counselor insists that he is going to carry out organic work, a more neglected plot on the part of the vice president, to achieve good results from Compromís and the reissue of the progressive government.
“No position can be
patrimonialized
”, Marzà said today.
The names that are shuffled for the changes are almost the same in all the pools.
Between the
ledges
, the Minister of Health, who has managed the entire crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ana Barceló;
the Treasury, Vicent Soler;
and that of Innovation, Carolina Pascual, which would mean the change of half of the socialist members of the Consell.
For Barceló two exits are being considered, one in the spokesperson for the socialist group in the Valencian Parliament and another in the Government Delegation.
Both represent a plus of visibility in Alicante, a province for which she is a deputy and in which the PSPV most falters and another as spokesperson for the Socialist Group.
In the case of Soler, a man respected in Madrid and even by the opposition, he could save a position as territorial senator before the announcement of the current senator, Josefina Bueno, of wanting to leave the post, according to socialist sources.
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