A Thorn in the Side of the Socialists

By Charles Kent

During the interest that had been focused on the Catalan Statutes, what should not be forgotten are the Valencian Amendments to the Statutes of Autonomy, as these could well become a major point of interest. The Prime Minister appears not to interested in the least to make any sort of agreement with the main opposition party over how he sees the new model of Spain, despite the Council of State expressing opinions that are clearly contrary to those of Mr Rodriguez Zapatero In actual fact the amendments of the statutes of the Autonomies are in fact proving to be an area in which the Prime Minister seems to be changing partners in his government, and in line with this is what is now seen as a conflict – when before it was peaceful – between the Valencian Socialists – PSPV – and the local Partido Popular.
As is usual these days, the responsibility for the conflict clearly lies with the Socialist Party, who have shown themselves quite prepared to rip up an agreement that was solemnly signed before the Valencian People, and which also won the Manuel Broseta Prize for the two signatories – Joan Ignasi Pla for the PSPV , and Valencian President Francisco Camps for the PP. It was right in the middle of the debate on the Valencian Statures that the Socialists stated that they were supporting the opposition to the Valencian Statutes that was presented by the Catalan Party CiU and the communist coalition Izquerda Unida, in a move that was clearly unthinkable for the PP. What the Socialists are now supporting is a reduction in the electoral lists from 5 to 3%, which means that they support the entry into the Valencian Parliament of Catalan politicians. On top of that, they also want to eliminate the word ‘Language’ when talking about Valencian in order to stir up the old wars between Valencian and Catalan.
Consequently, what the Socialists and their minority partners have stirred up is a probable refusal by the Madrid Parliament to pass the Valencian texts without amending them, and when the amended texts are presented again to the Valencian Parliament, the Partido Popular that had been so strongly promoting these amendments will be forced to vote against their implementation.
It was no small effort that resulted in Mr Camps actually managing to get Mr Pla to sign on the dotted line, but now the Moncloa has stepped in an laid down the law: any pact with the Partido Popular is forbidden. This means that the ‘reasonable’ text as proposed under the agreement is now becoming part and parcel of the Prime Minister’s obsession with granting rights to minority parties.
The attitude of the Socialist Government towards those autonomies ruled by the PP varies between ignoring the Communities or open hostility. As a result, Valencia and Madrid as well as several other autonomies, have been relegated to the second level as far as infrastructure spending is concerned. Few subjects ignite sensibilities in the Mediterranean autonomies as the lack of water, and for almost two years now, the Socialist Government has sat on its hands over what to do about water for the Valencian Community – except that is to cancel the PP plans for the Ebro River diversion, and this when most of the necessary infrastructure remains half built and resulted in the EU withdrawing its funding for the project. Equally, investments from Madrid for roads and railways in the Valencian Community have taken a sharp drop, and nowhere is this better seen than in the plans for the High Speed Train – the AVE. Now it would appear that what on paper has been estimated to be one of the most profitable AVE lines – Madrid/Valencia – will not now be opened until ‘at least’ 2012 or five years after the Americas Cup races, which the Socialist Government has equally ignored, despite it representing a first rate opportunity to promote Spain amongst the high rollers of International Yacht racing. Consequently, that task has been taken on by the Valencian Government with much aplomb, and their campaign has been very well received.Governing a country should be in the best interests of everyone, but this is yet another example of Socialist Party strategy taking over. It could be that the so-called ‘Valenciana Model’ of the reforms of the Autonomies will be placed in a political corner or blind spot, whilst the so-called ‘Camps Initiative’ is far too ambitious for those who want Spain to advance at two speeds - those autonomies ruled by the Socialists first, and those ruled by the PP second. Whatever the reasons, the signs do not look good at all for the smooth passage of the Valencian Amendments. This will no doubt be well remembered by the Valencians during the next elections.