The president of Extremadura, María Guardiola, has announced the early calling of regional elections in her region, given the impossibility of passing the budget. The elections will be held on Sunday, December 21."It is irresponsible to waste the time of the people of Extremadura," she declared."We are not going to allow a blockage because some of us are not here to take the seat," she added.
María Guardiola (PP) has not waited for the Plenary Session of the amendments to the entire budget that was scheduled for this Tuesday and in an unexpected twist has called the media this afternoon to announce an open secret: that there will be elections in Extremadura on December 21 after failing to approve the regional budgets for the second year after the blockade of the entire opposition: PSOE, Unidas Podemos and also Vox.
Guardiola held an event this morning in Madrid, where, in the presence of the national president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, he collected the award from the National Federation of Associations of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) for the Best Program in Favor of the Self-Employed for the Plan to Stimulus the Creation and Consolidation of Self-Employment 2024-2027. Surprisingly - it was expected tomorrow - he has scheduled an official appearance at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Regional Government of Extremadura this afternoon, where he confirmed the dissolution of the chambers and the publication of an extraordinary Official Gazette (DOE) with a legal period of 54 days to coincide with his intention to hold the elections on Sunday, December 21.
With this move, Guardiola has preempted the prominence that the opposition groups were set to gain this Tuesday. The three had presented amendments to the entire bill last week, and the plenary session, in which the Minister of Finance, Elena Manzano, was to speak first, was going to last all day, with the key amendment, that of the PSOE, being debated in the afternoon. This was the only one that could be approved if Vox abstained, since the Socialists themselves confirmed today that they would not support that of Abascal's party, while this group had not confirmed how they would vote:"We will not disappoint our voters," warned Óscar Fernández, spokesperson for Vox in the Extremadura parliament.
Guardiola began her appearance by warning that Extremadura asked for"a change, a new direction" two years ago."We have only thought about working on that mandate from the polls, with Extremadura coming first, above any party and any political calculation," the Popular Party leader stated.
After noting that all economic and social data have improved during his term (unemployment, exports, etc.)—"demonstrating that we have implemented a functioning economic and social model, and that public services are also advancing"—he warned that he lacks the fundamental "tool" to continue this work, referring to the approval of the budget:"We are growing above the Spanish average, but we need a budget that supports this historic moment."
From there, she criticized the opposition parties, both Vox and the PSOE:"In politics there are two paths: to build and to block" and thus, she assured,"I conveyed this to the parliamentary groups, we were straightforward, with transparency, not holding any cards, we invited the groups to dialogue to approve the most substantial budget in history." However, she assured, she received as a response the"absence of Vox and the general secretary of the PSOE ( Miguel Ángel Gallardo ) in the first meeting to negotiate the accounts:"We do not understand why the possibility of approving the best budgets is stopped and the brake is chosen" and she added: "Causing the blockage only benefits those who think in terms of polls and not people. We have extended our hand and we have gone all the way" but, she assured, she has been forced to call elections due to the"irresponsibility" of the opposition groups.
Guardiola criticized the fact that politics in Extremadura cannot be turned"into a fictional series." He said,"This is about the people, their businesses, their children. Out of responsibility, Extremadura deserves to continue moving forward, and therefore, we will not allow this blockage because some of us are not here to hold on to our seats." Following this, he announced that he had just signed the decree dissolving parliament (thus, the plenary session that was to debate the opposition's comprehensive amendments will not be held on Tuesday) and that elections would be called for December 21st:"The day the campaign begins is my birthday," he joked.
Asked about the possibility of waiting until tomorrow's plenary session to make a decision on bringing forward the election, Guardiola stressed that"we already experienced this last year," referring to the initial agreement reached with the PSOE (never with Vox) that was broken the day before the vote.
Finally, Guardiola asserted that he aspires to"the majority trust of the people of Extremadura," referring to the possible results of the polls. In the 2023 elections, the PP and PSOE tied at 28 seats, Vox obtained 5, and Unidas por Extremadura, 4.
Sources from the National People's Party (PP) have supported Guardiola's decision:"Citizens cannot be held hostage by the weakness of their leaders" and have warned that "given the threat of blockade by parties that supported the investiture of a female president but are now complicating the governability of a region, elections must be called."
Furthermore, Génova took the opportunity to remind everyone that the Prime Minister is not even capable of presenting the budget for this term:"Neither María Guardiola is Pedro Sánchez nor is the PP the PSOE. We are not afraid of the polls because the future of no leader should be above the citizens they represent" and they added that "without budgets you cannot govern. Coherence is a value that will return to national politics when Pedro Sánchez leaves office. But in some leaders, as is the case of the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, dignity prevails, which is lacking in the Moncloa Palace."
