Arriaga has commented that “it is a pity” that there is no consensus among all the political forces -although CC-PNC and PP were going to support it- and at the request of the Socialist Group it has ended up withdrawing the proposal due to the “distrust” of the groups and in order to find the political “consensus”.
He has said that the same motion has been approved unanimously in the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and has claimed that Tenerife needs “fast, efficient and safe” public transport, and that happens by train, with operating costs more than 50 percent cheaper than the bus.
He has commented that the inclusion of the project in the railway network of general interest is a preliminary step to be able to attract financing from the EU and the State, in an infrastructure with a cost of almost 2,400 million.
Arriaga has shown his commitment to this project and has criticized the “swings” of CC, with many changes of position in recent years, lamenting that all the political forces of the corporation do not go “together hand in hand.”
MOBILITY: “A CHRONIC PROBLEM”
Javier Rodríguez, spokesman for the Socialist Group, has pointed out that mobility is a “chronic problem” on the island that affects work-life balance and the productivity of companies and understands that it is a “priority” to reach consensus with other administrations regarding the train of why it is a “backbone” project.
He has indicated that “we must plan and have an idea of the island” and abandon “political tacticism”, putting on the table changes in CC’s criteria.
However, he has commented that the southern train “is not a priority” in the current context of economic crisis and has predicted that “there will be no changes” in mobility on the island until the buses circulate on a separate platform from the cars.
María José Belda, spokesperson for Sí Podemos, has criticized that Cs promotes the motion without having completed the survey of the Insular Plan for Sustainable Mobility and has wondered if the island needs a train given that it is a limited and fragile territory.
He has made it clear that the southern train is a “red line” to maintain the government pact with the PSOE that brought Cs to the vice presidency, to the point that he advanced that “if it goes ahead it is a break with the pact.”
THIS GOVERNMENT TEAM “IS A WEATHER”
Belda has only opened the door to study this project once the mobility plan has been completed and if it proves to be an ideal option and has the support of all political forces.
Félix Fariña, from the Nationalist Group, has commented that the motion “arrives late” because perhaps the time to request financing from the resilience funds has passed and he has stated that while in Gran Canaria “they are clear about it”, Tenerife will return to be “the eternal loser”.
He has criticized that the insular government is “kidnapped by a minority and extreme left party” –in reference to Sí Podemos– and that Pedro Martín “betrays the south” by not betting on a future project because of “tacticism” and his desire to save the presidency.
Regarding Arriaga, he regretted that his “pulse trembled” and withdrew the motion.
Manuel Fernández (PP) has shown his group’s support for the southern train in the face of the “noise” of Sí Podemos and the “silence” of the president in the midst of a threat to break the pact with Sí Podemos, which shows, in his opinion , the “lack of leadership” of the Cabildo.
Thus, he has criticized the “circus show” given by the three political formations and believes that Martín is “mortgaging” the future of Tenerife to guarantee his political “survival”.
However, he has congratulated Belda because “he has achieved his goal” of paralyzing the motion due to the “lack of courage” of Cs, who has preferred to save his political position in the institution. “This team is a political vane, that’s enough,” he added.
