The Government adds, among critics, a majority for its second decree in response to the price crisis

Today’s latest news from the State of the Union Debate

ERC, PNV, Bildu and PDeCAT support validation and PP moves to abstain, although it anticipates the failure of the new measures

14 (EUROPE PRESS)

The Government has found the support of its parliamentary partners to achieve the validation of the second decree law of economic response to the price crisis unleashed as a result of the unchecked escalation in the price of electricity and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to the PSOE and United We Can, they have supported the Esquerra Republicana decree law, the PNV, EH-Bildu, the PDeCAT, Más País-Equo, the Canarian Coalition, Teruel Exists, the PRC and Compromís. The PP, Ciudadanos, Junts, the CUP, BNG and Foro Asturias have abstained while Vox has been the only group that has voted against.

In any case, each one of the partners has made the Government ugly by the lack of negotiation prior to the approval of the measures, their insufficiency or the absence of structural measures to contain inflation, and not their effects.

“THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ARE GOING TO BE COMPLEX”

Acknowledging that “the coming months are going to be complex”, the Minister of the Presidency, Democratic Memory and Relations with the Courts, Félix Bolaños, has boasted that, far from the “austerity” with which the previous financial crisis was responded to , the coalition government is now responding “with solidarity” to guarantee “public support” for the most affected sectors.

Thus, it has valued the new tax reduction on the electricity bill, up to 5% VAT, as well as the extension of the rest of the reductions in taxes on electricity, the extension of the discount of 20 cents on fuel, the limitation 2% in updating rents, deferrals of Social Security contributions, the prohibition of dismissal due to this crisis in companies that receive aid or the 200-euro ‘cheque’ for people with incomes below 14,000 euros.

Also the discount from September of 50% of all public transport subscription managed by the state public sector -which will finally be 100% in the case of Cercanías and Media Distancia, as announced this Tuesday by President Pedro Sánchez- – and 30% of the rest of public transport.

THE PARTNERS ACCUSE HIM OF “IMPROVISATION” AND “POPULISM”

Precisely, several ‘friendly’ formations have made it ugly that the Executive modified this bonus not only before it came into force, but even before it was presented in Congress, which in the opinion of groups such as PNV and PDeCAT shows a certain “improvisation” .

For Joan Margall, from ERC, total gratuity is “a populist point” –“if this is the star measure, we have a problem”–, and has demanded structural measures and the execution of all investments. Even considering that the measures are “in the right direction”, he believes that they are “insufficient”, and has invited the Government to make the announced tax on banks permanent, and not temporary, to tax their profits “as long as they are structural” .

The PNV has also validated the decree, although with “a somewhat devastating ‘yes'”, said its economic spokesperson, Idoia Sagastizabal, who believes that the measures are “bread for today and hunger for tomorrow”. Thus, she has missed more selective measures, but also structural measures, and above all “a government with more empathy, that listens to the groups and really negotiates.”

Mertxe Aizpurua, parliamentary spokesperson for EH-Bildu, has justified her support “out of responsibility and for the people”, but has demanded “intervene in the electricity market at once” and know the cost of generation.

OVERCOME ‘PEGASUS’ THE SUPPORT INCREASES AND THE PP ABSTAINS

All in all, the Government has broadened its support for the previous decree law and reduced its votes against the first decree law in response to the price crisis, which was examined in Congress a few days after the spying scandal on independence leaders became known. with the computer program ‘Pegasus’.

This led to the contrary vote of the PP, Vox and Ciudadanos also being joined by the votes of ERC and Junts, who on this occasion have endorsed the validation of the second decree.

Not only them, since the PP has also moved to abstain, as announced shortly after the speech in plenary by its deputy Jaime de Olano, who has not been able to specify the direction of his group’s vote and who has assured that the measures extended by the Government until December “have failed”.

“What makes you think that what has not worked between April and June is going to work between July and December?”, he asked, anticipating that these measures “are going to fail again”, because “it is one thing to mitigate the effects on some group and another is to tackle the root of the problem”.