Echoes still resonate in the Moncloa Palace, of Sánchez’s year-end speech in which he flatly rejected the modification of the labor reform through the process in Congress, and assured that “the coalition with Podemos is robust and have a good time.” But reality is sometimes stubborn and does not understand feelings or empty promises. A few weeks later, he is involved in one of the most serious fights with his government partner, which is testing the strength of the coalition. The culprit, as you know, is the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, over whom the president apparently has no decision-making capacity due to the agreements reached with his political partner.
Garzón’s words about the poor quality of meat from large pig farms have fallen like a bucket of cold water on the PSOE, because they are produced on the eve of the regional elections in Castilla y León, where agricultural and livestock activities have a relevant weight in its GDP.
The Socialists, at first, let the controversy run thinking that it would die down in a few days. But when they found that Casado was using it to reaffirm his leadership inside and outside the party, They had no choice but to go out and deny it.
The Castilian-Leonese elections can mark the future of the leader of the PP, since a victory there and in Andalusia would consolidate him against his great internal rival at the moment, the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The spokesperson minister, Isabel Rodríguez; the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas or Sánchez himself came out in a rush to deny Garzón and defend the quality of Spanish meat. But the head of Consumption was reaffirmed in his statements, with the support of the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, which last Monday issued the warning that it was necessary to “take care of the coalition”.
The Garzón’s statements are a hoax, because white-coated pig producers, the common pig, are one of the pioneers of animal welfare conditions in Europe, along with the Netherlands and Denmark. Its facilities comply with the most demanding European regulations regarding the care of these animals and have had the “Certified welfare commitment” seal for two years. But it doesn’t matter, because when an issue enters the political debate, any rational explanation is sterile.
The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, took the opportunity to ban macro farms until 2025, when they are one of the few sources of wealth for many rural areas, instead of demanding compliance with health and environmental requirements for its operation.
It already happened on the eve of the Madrid elections. Ayuso took advantage of the fact that the president of the CIS, José Félix Tezanos, described the people of Madrid as “taverns” to turn the citizens and the owners of small businesses against the socialists.
The raw battle generated by Garzón will end with the elections in Castilla y León. Sánchez will not sacrifice his coalition with Podemos no matter what happens, just as it happens in the coming confrontation with himto labor reforml. The president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, drew a red line to maintain his support for what was agreed on Christmas Eve: that not a single comma be changed.
For the minister of the presidency, Félix Bolaños, the accounts are beginning to come out to fulfill Sánchez’s promise. Given the conditions set by its government partners, ERC, EH-Bildu and the PNV, the reform could be approved with the support of parties with more modest representation such as Citizens, PDeCAT, Teruel exists or the two small Canarian coalitions. In total they would add 174 yeses, compared to 173 noes of the rest. Bingo!
What is the problem then? That Yolanda Díaz y Garzón, the illustrious perennial Minister of Consumer Affairs, they do not want to hear about a pact with Ciudadanos. It already happened in the previous legislature. Sánchez had to choose between Pablo Iglesias or Albert Rivera, who ultimately ruled himself out. The new leader of Ciudadanos, Inés Arrimadas, thus tries to erase the mistakes of the past.
The second vice president, always attentive to details, looks for an escape route, that any of the partners of the rebel government abstain. The requirement to validate the royal decree is that there are more yeses than it is not.
On Monday, he took advantage of the visit of the molt president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonés, to Madrid to have dinner with him and ask him to abstain. Aragonés did not give his arm twistedr. He made it a condition that the administrative authorization for the ERE be restoredS. Like the PNV, it also wants regional agreements to prevail over sectoral ones, while Bildu proposes restoring nothing less than the 45-day severance pay.
Diaz will continue to insist. But he has already asked his camera assistants to spread the message that, if there is no other choice, the best thing would be to process the decree as a bill to facilitate the introduction of amendments.
The Secretary of State for Employment and one of the fathers of the agreement reached with the social agents, Joaquín Pérez Rey, spoke in favor of the parliamentary process last week, just as he did this is the general secretary of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, who is enthusiastic about Bildu’s proposal.
The vice president can She is an expert in applying an iron fist with a silk glove to the most delicate matters. already did with the last increase in the Minimum Wageor, that it was agreed without the agreement of the employer and will repeat it this time, if necessary. The bosses don’t trust her. Garamendi refused to be photographed with the vice president after the pactor, at the risk of being betrayed.
But here the key is not held by Garamendi, who is a scapegoat, but Bolaños, Sánchez and Calviño. What will the trio that commands the Government do? Will they give up joining Ciudadanos to throw themselves into the arms of Díaz? The ending is very interesting.
The labor reform runs a serious risk of being toughened through its modification in Congress. “Dialogue, dialogue and dialogue” is the magic formula repeated in the Government. But, in the end, he will not hesitate to sacrifice it for a more altruistic purpose, to preserve the coalition. Among other things, because Brussels does not require an agreement with employers to disburse European funds, as we have dreamed of on several occasions.
“Spain needs stability and address the huge task of reforms,” said Sánchez in his balance sheet for the year. And it is in it. Of course, they already figure out what reform he is referring to, the tax reform to collect more taxes, especially from high incomes. As Minister Escrivá announced this week to the self-employed, who will triple the quotas they pay into Social Security in the coming years.
PS,-There are more and more doubts about the control of SEPI’s solvency fund. Last September, it granted 241 million to the Hotusa group, which went from declaring a profit of 68 million in 2019 to a loss of 130 the following year.
However, its president, Amancio López-Seijas, revealed a few days ago that the group had closed last year, in which it returned to red numbers, with the incorporation of 23 hotels taking advantage of the drop in asset prices, which means increasing its hotel park by just over ten percent, to more than 200.
The strong expansion in a year still complicated like last, contrasts with its financial situation. The group had debts of around 850 million at the end of 2020, most of them maturing in the medium or long term. What happens if another more serious wave of coronavirus comes? Is Hotusa a giant too big to fall?
The SEPI had to take charge of Air Europa a few months ago, to which it gave 475 million, due to the relapse of its activity. You should learn from your mistakes.
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