The Congress will give the green light this Thursday for a smooth start to the coalition government’s political course. The resolution, which includes an energy-saving plan, will have enough support to be approved despite the PP’s vote against. This Wednesday, PNV announced its support “responsibly” and ERC and EH Bildu also received support, which, however, they preferred not to publish for the moment.
On the part of the executive itself, the necessary votes were also considered connected thanks to the parliamentary majority of the investment, which seems to be renewed and healthy after several months of ups and downs at the end of the summer, which made some of the most important measures. The legislature fell to the government of Pedro Sánchez. This was also reflected in the Permanent Council this Wednesday, where the partners together with the executive parties voted for all the demands made by the PP, except for the Minister of Movement and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez.
The gap was opened by the labor reform, which the ERC, EH Bildu and PNV voted against and which miraculously passed, with one vote, thanks to a famous mistake by PP deputy Alberto Casero. But it didn’t stop there. The Pegasus case, which exposed the hearing of independence leaders, sparked a political crisis between the PSOE and the ERC, leading to the withdrawal of parliamentary support from the Republicans for various executive measures. Some turbulence that, for now, seems to have stopped.
“Other times they took measures here without negotiation, and the good news is that this time it is possible to negotiate,” ERC spokesman Gabriel Ruffian said in Congress this Wednesday, before recalling that they already had many measures in the text. He was defended by “left-wing political forces”, including his own. The Republicans have taken their support for the text as a matter of course, although they will not officially announce their position until a few hours before the vote. The position is very similar to that of EH Bildu, which also plans to vote for the austerity plan. “It is a necessary decree that has good measures, but it can be improved,” Basque spokesman Mertke Aixpurua said in a statement to Cadena SER.
Even more clear was the PNV, which already on Wednesday afternoon publicly confirmed its support “without responsibility, considering that the measures discussed make sense only if they are used immediately and believed that the energy emergency plan that the Executive Central will transfer to the European. In September, the commission will consider the short, medium and long-term proposals sent by the Basque government.
Parliamentary partners of the executive branch noted Minister Teresa Ribera’s statement on processing the ordinance into a draft law, which will lead to changes by the rest of the political groups. Basque and Catalan nationalists and supporters of independence will offer “great flexibility” for autonomous communities to be the ones to set, for example, air conditioning and heating limits, based on their climate, because “it’s not fair. Let it be the same for Málaga as for Bilbao,” said a Bildu spokesperson.
This Wednesday’s call to the standing delegation of the Congress reaffirmed the lack of understanding between the ruling groups and the main opposition party.
“I think the news will be that the main opposition party will support some of the government’s decisions,” Executive President Pedro Sanchez told reporters at a press conference after meeting the Colombian president in Bogota. Gustav Petro. The head of the executive branch accused the PP of what he called a “negative opposition” and a “lack of statecraft” that does not fulfill “its constitutional obligations.”
Then, Sánchez reminded the crowd that the decree on energy conservation, whose support is already tied to tomorrow’s confirmation in Congress, is “the materialization of an agreement between European countries.” “Vote ‘no’ to the austerity plan recognized by the president of the European Commission himself, who is not a social democrat, he is a Christian democrat,” argued the president, who then scolded the PP for voting against the decree. “, of the middle working class.
For the PSOE’s new parliamentary speaker, Patxi López, voting against the energy decree announced by Feijo’s PP means that “they are voting against Europe, European partners and a Spain that needs solidarity. against carriers and students. They will vote against the Spaniards again. They don’t even protect their voters,” he criticizes.
Lopez recalled that the austerity plan is a “European commitment” and asked himself about the position of the opposition. “The question is, what does he say yes to? Does anyone know of any PP suggestions that allow for savings? This is Europe, this is commitment to European partners, this is European solidarity and this is a small effort that prevents a greater evil. It is effective because it proves its usefulness and is common sense,” he said.
For his part, the General Secretary of the PP, Kuka Gamara, asked the government to correct and amend the energy saving decree to highlight the content in order to change the vote against: “On the one hand, energy. events and, on the other hand, assistance for public transport or scholarships’, which are also provided for in the plan. Gamarra believed that the decree was imposed because the government “didn’t talk to anyone, neither the autonomous communities, nor the affected sectors, nor the main opposition party,” he lamented, despite meetings with Teresa Ribera’s team. Autonomous communities, companies, consumers and political groups throughout the summer.
The validation of the royal decree comes before the main course of the energy road map, which the government must draw up to meet the requirements set by Brussels. This is a contingency plan that should not only contain additional cost-saving measures, but also specific details to deal with and help other European countries in the event that Russia shuts off the gas tap.
Third Vice President and Minister for Energy Transition and Demographic Challenges, Teresa Ribera, admitted this Wednesday that the plan is “the most important document” because the measures adopted in August are “urgent” to eliminate “excessive consumption, such as lighting when not needed .” The aim, he stressed, is to “keep the industry going” as well as “comfort at home and help European partners” who are in a worse energy situation, such as Germany.
The government has asked autonomous communities and municipalities to send proposals by August 31, as the emergency plan must be presented in September. For now, the PP has not revealed what short-term savings proposals will be proposed by its local and regional administrations. At the same time, Germany gave the green light to similar measures initiated by Spain, such as limiting the heating temperature to 19 degrees or turning off the lights in public buildings at night.
In addition, the Royal Decree is validated by the full activation of electricity prices in Europe. This Thursday, the price of electricity in Spain took a break, with a drop of more than 12% compared to Wednesday. Nevertheless, it is at its highest level since March and despite the use of gas capping, which has reduced the impact of the cost of this raw material on the electricity bill for those on a regulated tariff. Since the gas cap was put in place, the so-called “Iberian solution” has led to savings of almost 19% for these customers, according to data compiled by elDiario.es.
In France, Germany and Italy, the three-day cost is close to or above €600 per MWh, while in Spain we are at €382/MWh.
Source: El Diario
