SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The spokesman for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Sebastián Franquis, has described as “waste” the increase in spending by the new Government in councils and senior positions, which increases by almost 25% compared to the previous Executive, which represents 1.5 million euros more per year. “This is the most expensive government in history,” he asserted.
Sebastián Franquis has expressed his “amazement and concern” with the first steps taken by the Canary Islands Coalition (CC) and the Popular Party (PP) at the head of the new regional Executive, “choosing to prioritize a tax cut on large inheritances and leaving in the drawer his electoral promise to reduce the IGIC, in the face of the declaration of a climate emergency as the first measure carried out by the previous Canarian government”. “These are ideological measures and of a liberal nature,” he said.
Specifically, the socialist spokesman expressed his concern about measures such as the drop in the IGIC, since it will mean a reduction of 61.5 million euros in public revenue and will affect “without any doubt” the Welfare State of this autonomous community.
“They said in the campaign that they would lower taxes but not to whom or when. What they have done is lower the inheritance tax on large inheritances. They begin by governing for those who have the most,” he added.
In addition, he has criticized the political increase in the price of this Executive, with the incorporation of more directors, the appointment of a greater number of senior positions and the creation of new departments.
Specifically, he referred to the 91 senior officials of the last X Legislature compared to the 115 senior officials of this XI Legislature (without counting the addresses of the autonomous bodies), which include 12 ministries and the presidency; 30 vice ministries; a spokesperson; 56 directorates general; 13 general secretariats and the general secretariat of the Presidency; a General Intervention and a commissioner of the REF.
For the socialist spokesman, “this is an example that shows the priorities of this new government, which also now does something different from what was promised during the electoral campaign, such as lowering the IGIC, postponed until next year despite announcing this measure by 2023”.
In this sense, he recalled the promises included in the electoral program of the popular, where they promised to reduce the “disproportionate” number of positions of trust and a rigorous use of public resources.
For Franquis, the new government “does not start off on the right foot” and describes as “surprising” that the popular vice president Manuel Domínguez affirms that he “just found out” that in 2024 the fiscal rules will return to the European Union, since it is about of a matter that has been on the table for more than a year and has been publicly valued by all agents, including the central government and the outgoing Executive of the Canary Islands.
“It is clear that linking this well-known forecast to their decision not to lower the IGIC, as they promised, is nothing more than an excuse that opens a crack in the credibility of the new partners of the Government of the Canary Islands. Up to now the only thing we have It is an increase in the chapter of spending on high offices and tax measures for large inheritances, which is tremendously disappointing,” he added.
For the spokesman, “these measures are not aimed at the social majority and whose true impact is doubtful”: “We are already seeing it in Andalusia with the inheritance and donation tax, where the 99% discount is more aesthetic than exchange because there are very few beneficiaries”.
The Socialist Group accuses the new Executive of “more of the same” and that they are showing that “things are not giving more than themselves”: “The nationalists and popular people play with words to make it seem that something is happening, but in reality they do not say nothing new. In the Canary Islands, at the moment, there is nothing new, but more of the same to what we had four years ago and that the vote at the polls turned its back on “.
A “RIGOROUS” OPPOSITION.
For his part, he assured that the Socialist Group will carry out a “rigorous, coherent and demanding” opposition, and that it expects achievable proposals that do not deceive the citizens of the Canary Islands. “Those who govern must comply with what they promised.”
In this sense, he explained that the Socialists will carry out an opposition “without any complex”, with the purpose of consolidating an alternative and working by making a rigorous and tough opposition, with a lot of visualization but constructive, “being sensible and reasonable”.
Franquis pointed out that the Socialist Parliamentary Group will offer collaboration on regional issues, on the defense of the jurisdiction of European funds, new regional financing and promoting a national health financing pact separate from regional financing that also covers pharmaceutical spending.
For the socialist spokesman, the objective of the detailed monitoring of the Government and the revitalization of the agenda is “to prove that there is a viable alternative to the Clavijo government.”
