He did it in San Telmo. In the Parliament of Andalusia. But he chose Madrid. Nothing in politics is the result of chance or improvisation. In PP, of course, none. Everything is measured. And Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla knew exactly what he was looking for this week when he rose to an informative breakfast in the capital to announce the abolition of a wealth tax paid by only 20,000 Andalusians. On the one hand, to present his credentials as the chief baron of the PP. On the other hand, take the Sánchez government’s pressure on Alberto Núñez Feijo over his opposition to a tax on energy companies and banks. By the way, reduce the land to the tenant of Puerta del Sol, who, by the way, did not attend the informational breakfast after claiming that he compromised in a radio interview.
The Andalusian was presented in Madrid by Feijo himself, and high-ranking officials of the Spanish business community did not miss the appointment, as well as a large group of former party leaders and ministers who were not seen for this type of action. years. Now they are all from Moreno. And not so much Ayuso, with whom the goal of the national leadership is to remain, if not obscure, then as another party in the territorial organization.
And it is that the historic victory of the PP in Andalucia not only turned the electoral council upside down, but also the internal balance in favor of one of the barons closest to Feijo, who openly and gives everyone the opportunity to take Moncloa. the keys. If the Galician does not rule in 2024, PP will return to its old ways to find new leadership, and not only Ayuso is warming up in the group, but also Moreno Bonilla. “The battle is open for another day and everyone is in it,” the popular MP admits.
“What the coup against Pablo Casado showed – continues the same interlocutor – is that there is no valid attachment or loyalty in this organization. No one sacrifices himself for anyone.” Ayuso already knew that he is not going to last more than eight years in his mandate and that if he proves his majority in 2023, 2027 will be the end of his Madrid adventure. “He is already playing with Feiyoo’s legacy,” speculated some of his co-religionists. Nothing that they have not escaped, on the other hand, in some cases from the immediate environment to the confusion of locals and strangers.
Moreno’s irritation on the national stage echoes the same dynamic. But in his case, in agreement with Feijo himself, who also cannot continue in office if he does not succeed in the first attempt, according to the version of the popular veteran, who does not consider this hypothesis. De Sanchez and the economic situation. The harmony of the Andalusian president with the Galician is absolute. And it is Andalucia, not Madrid, the mirror in which the ex-president of the Council sees himself to conquer Moncloa.
So much so that after the National Congress, Feijo wanted to give more weight to the region, which his friend Moreno led at the head of the national leadership. And in addition to choosing Andalusian Elias Bendodo as the national organization’s number three, he also recruited former councilor Juan Bravo into his Praetorian Guard. Both have absolute confidence in Moreno Bonilla, and the decision has been interpreted as a blessing in disguise for the power of Galicia and Andalusia to the detriment of Madrid, whose representation on the bridge of command has been reduced to a single undersecretary, who fell to the former mayor of Torrejon. De Ardos, Pedro Rolland, a man not exactly on the ropes of Ayusso.
The synchronicity between Moreno and Feijoo is complete. There is even a sector of the PP that envisages a coordinated strategy between Feijóo and Moreno to reduce the national space created by populism, events and daily attacks on Pedro Sánchez, Baroness of Puerta del Sol. Feijo will not challenge him. As Pablo Casado did until he started a personal war that shook the foundations of the party, nor reject any of its decisions, but he will work with the territories, especially Andalusia, on the road map that will be established. Also, barons can celebrate Sánchez and his policies not of his own free will, but in sync with the national leadership.
Moreno coordinated Feijoo’s speech in Madrid before what he said was his sixth tax cut as president of the Andalusian government, which, in addition to the controversial abolition of the wealth tax, included deflation of the IRPF rate. In its first three sections of the regional rate by 4.3% and an increase in the amounts exempted from taxation. The decision is identical to what Fernando López Miras responded to in Murcia the other day, a region that itself in the party admits that it has “an economic problem of the first magnitude” and that “there is no great pleasure in reducing taxes.” Reduce the collection in times of crisis.’
Beyond criticism over the elimination of the tax, questionable effectiveness and low collections, Moreno has not only managed to send clear signals that when tapped, if tapped, he will be in the PP’s national leadership race, but also to fend off government pressure on Feijo in recent weeks after Sánchez’s energy and He was opposed to the tax announced for banking. Moncloa has spent weeks installing a right-wing framework that defends the interests of the powerful, not the middle and working classes, even as he stands alone among his European counterparts and beyond what is now Brussels orthodoxy. In this last week, the government had to go out of the way of the path that celebrated the president of Andalusia.
The Andalusian president’s decision not only caused some confusion in the government, following the statements of the head of social security in favor of reforming the wealth tax, which was rejected by La Moncloa; It also set the executive’s agenda, which, in response to the PP’s fiscal attack, was to accept Podemos’ proposal to create a large property tax, which the PSOE itself rejected in Congress just three months ago. So it didn’t seem like a favorable measure and he allied with Vox, PP and Ciudadanos to overthrow it in parliament.
Uncertain inflation due to the war in Ukraine and the onslaught of the PP have forced the socialist sector of the executive branch to change its mind and rethink the new tax, the design of which is still in a very preliminary phase. And all this while accusing the right of “forgiving big energy companies and the wealthy to put the burden on the backs of the working middle class” while trying to dispel what he sees as the “false myth” that wealth taxes don’t exist. In Europe, as Feiyo claims. In France, it is called real estate fortune tax. In Italy there is a tax on financial assets and another on real estate. In the Netherlands it is called a wealth tax, as in Norway and Switzerland, and in Belgium a wealth tax on assets above one million euros is pending approval.
Thus, we are now witnessing an electoral campaign that will last 16 months and in which it has been confirmed once again that the unity of Spain that the PP defends does not apply to fiscal policy, especially when it comes to the outcome of regional and municipal elections, which largely anticipate the outcome of the general elections .
Fiscal policy will be a great ideological debate. Some will see this as favoring the rich to the detriment of the interests of the poor and to the detriment of the current state of economic deterioration. and others, from the fiscal autonomy of communities. In the meantime, it will be necessary to follow in the footsteps of Moreno Bonilla as he will be the spokesperson for Feijo, as he is ready to compete with Ayuso if it comes down to it and has already decided to warm up for the group.
Source: El Diario
