“It is immoral that the Government finances leisure activities for 17-year-olds with 400 euros, double the 200 that it distributes to vulnerable families. It’s immoral.” The phrase was pronounced this Thursday by the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in reference to Pedro Sánchez and the cultural bonus that the Government approved this year to help a sector that suffered the effects of the pandemic. It is the same Feijóo who just a year ago announced, as president of the Xunta de Galicia, a cultural bonus destined precisely for a “reactivation plan” for this industry.
It was September 2021. The then president of the Xunta de Galicia appeared at a press conference after a meeting of his Government. Feijóo recalled several bonds already approved: the tourist one, “activate commerce”, “renew electrical appliances”. Aid that served, he explained, to “alleviate the fall in consumption of 2020”, the hardest year of the pandemic.
“Culture worries us,” Feijóo said then, who proposed a “reactivation plan” because “thousands of families who live in the culture sector.” “We are going to reinforce with a cultural bond that will mobilize four million euros”, said the Galician president [aunque en realidad era la mitad, 1,9 millones]. The voucher offered “50% discounts on consumption in culture” to “encourage cultural demand, favor the strengthening of the sector.” The recipients were “39,000 users”. And the money available in the bond, 50 euros that would only pay 50% of the actual payment [de ahí que el dinero público invertido fuera la mitad de esos cuatro millones “movilizados”].
“You can buy audiovisual products: movies, series, books, video games, tickets for any cultural institution, movie theaters, music concerts, stage shows, etc,” Feijóo concluded.
One year and three months later, Feijóo himself has lashed out harshly against the Government, which this year has approved a 400-euro check for young people of 18-year-old age. During the 2022 balance press conference, Feijóo considered it “immoral” after contrasting it with the 200 euros per vulnerable family that the Executive is going to mobilize from January 2023. The PP leader has not explained the budget differences between both measures nor the number of recipients of each.
