The current president of Council of Tenerife, Peter Martin (PSOE), which has won the elections with 11 directors compared to 10 for the Canary Islands Coalition (CC), said this Monday that it is not “impossible” to continue leading the corporation despite the “disappearance” of Podemos and Ciudadanos ( CS), his partners in the last mandate.
In a press conference to take stock of election night, he was “very satisfied” with the result because it represents the best victory in number of votes and councilors in the last 40 years, with more than 112,000 supports, which reflects the “roots , the solvency and the weight” that the PSOE has on the island.
In his opinion, the victory in the Cabildo reflects the “vitality” of the PSOE and its “connection” with the majority of society, although he has not hidden that a “complex scenario is opening up that some want to see as a defeat when it has been obtained a great victory that is unmatched on any other island”.
Martín has indicated that the Socialists are “legitimized to seek the majority” in the Cabildo despite the fact that the result “complicates the agreement”, but has warned that the start of talks with CC and PP will not be for a “distribution of posts” but based on “a program and projects” where “the best for the island” is sought.
“It is hasty to sell the bear skin ahead of time, there is still a game to play,” he warned, accompanied by several members of his candidacy.
Along these lines, he has said that he does not “close” a possible motion of no confidence by the CC and PP, which in any case is a “democratic tool” that the PSOE already used in the last term despite the attempts that were made from CC for “boycotting” it.
He has insisted that he will “try to talk” with the two CC and PP candidates, Rosa Dávila and Lope Afonso, respectively, stressing that “what is important” is “what is going to be talked about”, mainly issues of mobility or rationalization of the bureaucracy and the public sector, mainly.
Martín has recognized his “capacity to reach agreements”, as he demonstrated in this last term by closing an agreement with the PP to approve the last budget once the support of Sí Podemos was lost, but at the same time he has indicated that “it means nothing ” and we will have to start from scratch.
Thus, he has highlighted the “height of view” of the popular so as not to block the management of the institution while with CC it was impossible to reach agreements and he dedicated himself to trying to “boycott” the day to day in the Cabildo.
He has not hidden the fact that it is “probable” that the PSOE, at the local level, has not benefited from a polarized electoral framework with a strong national character, as well as the “confrontation of the extreme left, which has become disunited and has managed to reach the nothing”.
Likewise, he has said that he is concerned about the “unheard of situation” that VOX has achieved representation in many institutions when they had candidates “that nobody knew about” but he has shown his confidence that this map “is not a continuum” and may vary in the future. .
GREAT VICTORY IN SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE
However, he has indicated that his intention is to start negotiating “soon” with both nationalists and popular ones, but he understands that we must also wait to “see how everything evolves”, including the pact that can be signed at the regional level.
Martín has also highlighted the electoral victory of the PSOE on the island, being the force with the most votes in 19 of the 31 municipalities, 6 from the CC and three from the PP, focusing on the victory of Patricia Hernández in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a CC’s “usual stronghold” and where a result “they did not expect” has been produced. “It is an element to highlight and value”, he added.
Likewise, he has highlighted, for example, the electoral victory in Guía de Isora, a historic stronghold of the PSOE –Martín was mayor for many years– despite the fact that a CC-PP agreement could evict them from the Mayor’s Office, as has also happened in Arona.
