The new political scenario in the Santa Cruz City Council has left the key to forming what will be the next municipal government in the hands of the Popular Party, led by Carlos Tarife. And it is that, although everything seems to indicate that the agreement between the Canary Islands Coalition (CC) and PP is the most viable, since the nine councilors that the current mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, and the five from Tarife have achieved, would add up to the majority of the Municipal plenary session compared to the 10 of the PSOE, the truth is that one of the conditions that the PP has set to make Bermúdez mayor, is that he remain in the Mayor’s office for the four years of his mandate.
This is how Tarife advanced it yesterday, after announcing that the negotiating commission that will address possible pacts had been formed, including one with the Socialist Party, whose leader Patricia Hernández, winner of the elections, would impose the same condition as Bermúdez, that of remain in Santa Cruz throughout the mandate.
With a condition like this, and with the call for general elections yesterday, which the mayor could attend as number one of CC for Tenerife, replacing Ana Oramas, I would point out that, if the pact is made with the nationalists, the Mayor’s Office would remain in the hands of the Popular Party. The first meeting of this negotiating committee will take place tomorrow, with meetings with both the CC and the PSOE. Tarife assured DIARIO DE AVISOS that from the party they have only told him “to create the commission and to start talking.” “Nobody has told me that I can’t meet with someone specific,” he said, alluding to the margin he has to negotiate.
Asked if an agreement with the PSOE is being considered in those negotiations, he pointed out that “it is not ruled out.” “What I am going to put on the table is that I have faced Patricia Hernández and José Manuel Bermúdez, make-up operations are not worth it. I am not going to make number two or three of the PSOE mayor or mayoress, nor two or three of CC ”, he pointed out. “I understand that they have presented themselves as I have,” he continued, “and whoever I agree with has to spend four years, and if not, we will have to talk about the Mayor’s Office.” In case there was any doubt about what that means, Tarife added that “the PP is never going to make someone mayor who has not been number one on the list.”
He was also clear that he wants to close a deal as soon as possible. “I am not going to make things too dizzy, I hope that this matter is resolved as soon as possible, to see what idea they have of Santa Cruz and if it is possible to reach an agreement,” he added.
“I am going to insist on the issues that we have carried out in the campaign -he added- such as the opening to the sea, the improvement of public services, aid for SMEs, or the entrepreneurial check, which is something that at least I want to get, but also guarantees for rentals for entrepreneurs in the city, and another series of issues…”. Tarife indicated that his intention is to “fight issues and then make decisions.” He insisted that, in these first contacts, he is not going to talk about the Mayor’s proposal, nor about how many areas… ”. “We are reasonable people, in the motion of no confidence pact we could have asked for 18 things and we ask for what we ask for. So I can only say that we do not rule out any scenario, ”he insisted.
Prudence and muteness
Both from the PSOE and from the CC, prudence in their assessments was maintained yesterday, referring both to what was said on election night. The Socialists, through number four on their list, Florentino Guzmán, reiterated that “the people of Santa Cruz have decided that Patricia Hernández is mayor.” “We are the first political force in voting, in councilors, therefore the popular will has decided a change in the city council and ratify that beginning of the mandate in which Patricia Hernández was given the Mayor’s Office”, he remarked, to add: “We have Withstanding the trend that had taken place in some places, we came out stronger after three years in opposition, from a constructive, door-to-door campaign, in which it has been ratified that Santa Cruz wants and needs change, a mayor, Patricia Hernández ”.
The Canary Islands Coalition (CC) also did not want to add anything to what the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, said on election night, in which he spoke of the moderate vote as the winner, stating that “a stable government is what these results denote. Moderation is imposed, ”he defended. The party insisted that it is time to analyze the results, without referring to the meeting that they will have with the PP tomorrow.
Together with CC, PP and PSOE, the far-right party Vox became the protagonist with its irruption in the Consistory with three councilors. Its leader in Santa Cruz, Alejandro Gómez, valued this result on election night. “We are very satisfied with the result. We have to thank the voters of Vox, as well as the affiliates and collaborators for the support provided in this electoral process, which has been very hard but very gratifying for everyone”.
Departure from the plenary
On the bitterest side of the night is that of United Yes We Can, which failed to overcome the barrier of 5% of the vote to enter the City Hall. His spokesperson, Ramón Trujillo, reflected through social networks about the setback that his training has taken. “Tonight the alternative left suffered a major defeat at the Santa Cruz City Hall. Despite the 8% of votes for the alternative left, we were left without representation in the municipality due to the division of our space (and Vox with some other councilor) ”, he pointed out. There was also room for self-criticism. “On the one hand, we have to do self-criticism and, on the other, it is very necessary that we recognize and support the work that is done well. And achieve stable coalitions that are above personalities and that accumulate credibility and experience before the people. And, without unity, there is no possible future. We already knew this… And the power of the media, which has played successfully to stimulate a scenario in which we neutralized ourselves, knew it…”.
From a capital city council with five political forces, the results of this 28M have reduced that presence to only four, since in addition to the disappearance of Unidas Podemos, so has Citizens (Cs). It is true that the orange formation was already in a phase of disappearance, with a defecting councilwoman, like Evelyn Alonso. who has appeared on the CC lists, and with the spokeswoman, Matilde Zambudio, as number five of the PSOE.
The attempt by Enrique Arriaga, vice president of the Cabildo, an institution in which he also appeared, to revive training in the city has not been possible. Cs has followed the same path as the party throughout the national territory, with its virtual disappearance. In Santa Cruz he barely received more than a thousand votes, which left him far from any aspiration. From Ciudadanos, no one has yet spoken at the island or municipal level to assess what, in practice, is the disappearance of the party from the political sphere.
With this plenary framework, the negotiations that will give a new government to the Santa Cruz City Council, where Vox is not invited, and in which everything points to a reissue of the CC-PP pact, and that with general elections of fund, could leave the Mayor’s Office in the hands of Carlos Tarife.
