Peter Martin, president of the council of Tenerife, appeared to assess the results of the elections from last Sunday. He was “satisfied” with the socialist victory both in the institution and in 19 of the 31 municipalities on the island (CC in 6 and the PP in 3) given his status as island general secretary of the party. A victory (11 directors for 10 of Canarian Coalition) which, although he did not express it that way, he tacitly recognized as bittersweet. In the middle of his speech, the call for general elections for next July 23 was announced. He was surprised by the news, a factor that changes the landscape of the following days. As much as to delay the movement for the beginning of negotiations for a possible pact, which was imminent, with the Popular Party (8 councillors). Now everything changes and the act of proclamation of Martin could be delayed until the end of the month (the limit is on the 28th). As close as possible to the new early elections.
The socialist candidate for re-election in the Tenerife Cabildo was accompanied at the Hotel Escuela Santa Cruz by several members of the socialist candidacy. After thanking the party controllers and proxies for their efforts, he apologized for not showing up at dawn, alleging that “not all the data was known and some counselor was dancing, as was the case at the end.” He insisted that They must be “very happy” to win the Cabildo, “the feud” of the Canary Coalition in which “they played it”. She also addressed the public to thank the 112,610 votes received. Martín recognized the damage that an electoral campaign “in a national key” has caused. Other negative keys were in “the confrontation and the division” to the left of the PSOE and the appearance of a party like VOX within the panorama of “a right that grows”.
“More than legitimized”
Pedro Martín considered his party “more than legitimized” to seek Corporation government agreements as election winner “in number of votes and in directors” in the corporation “for the first time in 40 years” (the previous occasion was in 1983 and that victory promoted José Segura Clavel to the insular presidency). He considered that the scenario “is complicated” to reach understandings but “not impossible.”
He made it clear that “the key will be to sit down to talk about programs and projects for the future of Tenerife, about what we want for the Island, not to distribute armchairs or stalls.” He stressed as “possible and legal” a vote of no confidence against him like the one that made him president four years ago. He values it as a democratic tool and recalled that in 2019, the Canarian Coalition “tried by all means to boycott it” even “bypassing the law when it occurred four years ago, we understand that this is a possibility.”
However, he qualified, “then, in 2019, the difference in votes in favor of Carlos Alonso was less than a thousand and now we got an advantage of about 5,000 over the CC candidate (Rosa Davila)” Pedro Martín refused to comment clearly with which political formations he could reach agreements because “it is not a question of who I speak to first, but what we are going to talk about”. public administration.
The endorsement of the agreements
valued the endorsement of the agreements reached during this mandate in the council. With Yes We Can Canary Islands to approve the first three budgets and with the Popular Party to carry out this year’s. Even with some CC initiatives. Of the nationalists, he stressed that, like Podemos, he voted against the budgets to “try to paralyze the Island” and “they did not show high vision.” On the other hand, he affirmed that an agreement was reached with the PP because “they were not short-term.” This, he valued, “can be a good beginning, although now it is of no use in this new stage.” He announced that the negotiations must begin “soon”, although with the expectation of the contacts to form the regional government. Then came the Copernican turn in the speech after Pedro Sánchez’s “surprising” announcement: dissolution of the Cortes and early general elections on July 23.
“Give us a break,” Martín ironized about these new elections called by President Sánchez because “the auditors are still at the tables.” He also appreciated that “now we have to carry out intense work to explain the message about the work of the Government of Spain in the Canary Islands, “the autonomous community most benefited by the state, since it was also the most affected, among other things by the zero tourism.” He mentioned the ERTE during the pandemic or the 1,144 million in aid to small businesses and the self-employed. He sentenced: “With data having faced the economic crisis in a very different way from the PP (the financial one of 2008) and not with slogans because the citizenry has not been reached.” In short, the Socialists still have, always according to Martín, an intense educational effort until next July 23.
28M results
Remember that the May 28 You can consult in El Día the results of the regional elections, council elections and municipal elections in Canary Islands and Tenerife 2023: