The vice presidency of Vox in Castilla y León spends 1.2 million to pay staff to manage only 112,000 euros

The vice presidency of Castilla y León, which corresponds to Vox in the coalition government with the PP, allocates 1,194,770 euros in personnel expenses to manage the 112,504 euros that it has allocated in investments, in the regional budgets that the Cortes plan to approve between this Thursday and Friday.

The leader of the extreme right, Juan García-Gallardo Frings, demanded that the PP be vice president in the regional Executive, but resigned from directing councils.

The only direct management attributions correspond to subsidies to public and private entities to promote "the defense and protection of the victims of terrorism" or "social awareness against terrorism".

Gallardo alone charges 80,741.24 euros per year, equivalent to 70% of the money invested by the Vice Presidency.

Between him and his three senior officials, they earn almost 300.

The Budgets for 2023 agreed between PP and Vox in Castilla y León, a community that they have led in a coalition since April, hide the high expenditure on personnel that the Vice Presidency entails with respect to the funds it administers.

These expenses are distributed in a subprogram of the Ministry of the Presidency, held by Jesús Julio Carnero (PP), available on page 13 of volume 3 of the 20 that cover the Budgets, with 7,435 pages.

Personnel spending for 2023 amounts to 1,194,770 euros, of which 299,899, 25%, remunerate the vice president and his three senior positions.

Among them, Montserrat Lluís is of great importance, formally director of Coordination and Social Interaction, but who supervises the work of the five ministries that correspond to Vox: Industry, Commerce and Employment;

Culture, Tourism and Sport;

and Agriculture and Livestock.

Her salary in 2023, of 76,913 euros per year, is equal to that received by the director of Gallardo's cabinet, José María Barrio Gil-Fournier, cousin of the vice president's father, a posh lawyer in Burgos.

Both charge as the director of the cabinet and the director of communication for the president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco.

Gallardo is also assisted by Jesús Enríquez Tauler, General Director of Relations with Civil Society, for 65,307 euros per year.

He worked in the Valladolid PP when Javier León de la Riva was mayor.

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The "current expenses on goods and services" collected by the regional accounts, which will be approved except by surprise between this Thursday and Friday in the Cortes, are also greater than what the Vice Presidency manages.

Of those 127,600 euros provided, there are 45,000 dedicated to "meetings, conferences and courses."

There are also 21,000 for "press, magazine, books and publications", as well as 13,000 for "studies and technical work".

The Budgets do not explain what exactly these headings refer to.

The "current transfers", that is, the amounts assigned to the Vice Presidency to invest, remain at just 112,504 euros, an amount less than the expenses.

Page 32 of volume 11 includes these attributions and explains that the public universities of Castilla y León will have access to 20,000 euros for "social initiatives to raise awareness of the consequences of terrorism", including "training activities" and "promoting research" towards the "recognition to the protection of victims and awareness against terrorism”.

To this sum are added 92,504 euros budgeted for entities related to the victims.

This amount will end up in groups that seek "the defense and protection of the victims of terrorism", promote "memory, dignity, reparation and justice" and promote "the culture of peace".

No operational functions

Gallardo lacks operational functions, apart from coordinating relations between the Board and various corporations, as well as representing the territory in the absence of Mañueco.

The far-right leader also heads Castilla y León in the European Committee of the Regions, in Brussels.

The politician attended the meeting last October to present a denialist speech talking about "climate catastrophism" and "green social engineering", and defended "secure borders" and "strong families" before his European counterparts.

The mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente (PSOE), was at that appointment and tweeted "now is when it's time to hang out as embarrassing others."

Gallardo finished off that speech with "the future belongs to the patriots, long live Hispanicity."

The vice president's agenda has many empty days between events and presentations that he usually attends.

Between November 21 and 30, Gallardo represented the autonomous institution on occasions such as a meeting with the councils to announce aid granted by the Ministry of Industry;

a winery gala;

the Field Awards on the agricultural sector;

the Podium Sports Awards;

the Toro de Oro award, where he defined bullfighting as “the art of arts”, and the Cossío journalism awards from the Junta de Castilla y León, where he criticized “political activists disguised as journalists”.

He also presented a database of convents and monasteries in Castilla y León.

According to him, the convents and monasteries "contribute to the fight against depopulation",

A high position with party functions

Gallardo's right-hand man is Montserrat Lluís, defined by the Board as "director of Coordination and Social Interaction", a senior position with functions that are more partisan than administrative.

Lluís has attributed 122,466 euros, of which 76,913 correspond to her annual salary and 12,553 with Social Security benefits.

On the other hand, contrary to the other two high positions of the vice president, not a penny goes to officials: she has no one to carry out her responsibilities.

Sources from the Board consider it "unusual" and point out that Lluís has no public duties and her mission is to control Gallardo and Vox communication.

EL PAÍS asked her about the functions of this address and she replied: "I have nothing to comment on."

Sources close to Vox explain that his appointment was imposed by the national leader, Santiago Abascal: "He commands more than Gallardo and has a better hand with Madrid."

Lluís joined the Board as temporary staff, something common in press teams, but he soon obtained the address that he now holds, something less frequent.

Despite her oath as a public employee, her work is "partisan and not very transparent," criticize sources from the Board.

Lluís controls Gallardo's agenda, they add, and her influence reaches the messages, since she ordered the removal of inclusive language in press releases.

A person from the work environment of the former director of the Cope and Trece TV group highlights its relevance in Gallardo.

"From the beginning there were orders to process everything with her," she says.

These voices attribute all the responsibility for making decisions, even granting interviews.

Likewise, she believes her "unpleasant" and "unapproachable."

On the other hand, the vice president presented her on May 11, when Lluís took possession of her, as she "serious, intelligent and hardworking, she leaves her mark without making noise and sees things that others do not see."

Gallardo praised that he "provides an essential vision to improve her career", and thus he referred to her: "Montse, as those of us who love her very much call her".

His position, which according to his agenda includes attending the committees of the general secretaries and appearing at events where Gallardo goes, entails a high expense on goods and services.

Lluís has been entrusted with 15,000 euros for "press, magazines, books and publications", 6,000 for "meetings, conferences and courses" and another 6,000 for "studies and technical work".

Part of the staff familiar with the euphemisms in Budgets affirm that these "studies" become electoral polls.

Lluís also has allowances of 6,000 euros per year for "locomotion".