Oviedo, Jul 13 (EFE).- PSOE and IU have laid the foundations this Thursday to begin to firmly negotiate a coalition government in Asturias in which, in principle, there will be no place for Podemos, a formation immersed in an internal crisis over the open confrontation between the only resident deputy in the autonomous parliament and the regional leadership of her party.
The acting president of the Principality, Adrián Barbón, and the IU Asturias coordinator, Ovidio Zapico, have overcome the differences they had in recent weeks, in which the coalition had warned that it would only negotiate its entry into a “government of progress , plural and shared” if areas in a future government were not vetoed and it was possible to talk about everything, without red lines.
Barbón has met today with the spokespersons of all the parliamentary groups, except Vox, to learn about his proposals for this legislature and his position before the government that he will preside over for the second time, once he is re-elected by the General Board of the Principality next week .
The investiture debate will begin on Tuesday, July 18, with Barbón’s speech, and his candidacy will be voted on the following day, although for him to be elected that day he needs an absolute majority that he will only achieve if the 19 Socialist deputies and the three of IU adds the support of the representative of Podemos, Covadonga Tomé.
This has already warned that if Barbón does not give rise to a tripartite government in which the purples have representation, it will not support his candidacy, although the final meaning of his vote will conform to what the Podemos Citizen Assembly decides, which probably will on Saturday, after the meeting that the purple party will hold today with the Asturian Socialist Federation.
In any case, Barbón is guaranteed his re-election in a second vote, which in case he does not pass the first one, will be held on July 21 and where he only needs to achieve a simple majority that he has assured since the popular candidate, Diego Canga, decided last week not to opt for the investiture, and that the regulation only allows in this case to vote in favor or abstain, but never against.
“There is good harmony” to close a coalition government before August 1 with IU, while with Podemos “absolutely nothing has been done” due to the “dissonance” that exists between its only deputy and the party’s regional leadership, has renowned Barbón, who will be in charge of one of the only two communities that the Socialists retain after the May 28 elections.
With a weight similar to that of the current legislature -it has three of the 45 deputies that make up the regional hemicycle-, IU became part of the governments of Vicente Álvarez Areces with responsibilities in two ministries.
IU claims areas of influence
PSOE and IU began “discreet” contacts weeks ago to try to reach an agreement that gives more stability to the next Executive of Barbón, contacts that a few days ago gained new impetus with the analysis of the proposals transferred by the coalition and that are now will intensify as any red lines have been removed.
The IU coordinator had already warned during all this time that there could be no banned areas in the negotiation, and that they were not willing to reach an agreement at any price and that they would only become part of an Executive in which they had the ability to influence in the economic, industrial and productive areas.
“The PSOE is open to a negotiation without limits”, stressed Zapico, who has stressed that, in a political context like the current one, in which the right is gaining weight, it is necessary to demonstrate “that the left knows how to build”.
No progress in Podemos
The announcement has been made hours before the PSOE negotiating committee meets with Podemos to address the one hundred proposals proposed by the purple formation for these four years of legislature, a meeting that its deputy, Covadonga Tomé, will not attend, but will a member of his team and two representatives of the regional management, which he is facing.
Although he has been opposed to commenting on internal issues of Podemos, Barbón has indicated that he is unaware of his proposals for this legislature and that due to the “dissonance” that occurs in that formation “absolutely no progress has been made.”
Tomé, however, has insisted today that if Barbón wants to guarantee his investiture in the first vote, he must accommodate Podemos in his Government and forget about the Forum, although the direction of his vote will not be decided until the Citizen Assembly of the party does so. purple possibly saturday
Outstretched hand of PP and Forum
The one who has decided it is his colleague from the Mixed Group, the general secretary of the Forum, Adrián Pumares, who has reiterated to Barbón today that he will abstain from the investiture and that, although he would prefer that he govern in solidarity, he will keep his hand outstretched to an Executive PSOE-IU to reach agreements on the great challenges that the community must face.
The demographic challenge, the fight against unemployment, public health, the fight against bureaucracy and care for the elderly are the issues on which the popular candidate, Diego Canga, believes that bridges can be built with the PSOE, although he has already warned that “if there is a coalition agreement, it would be very difficult for the PP to continue with an outstretched hand.”
Canga recalled that during the electoral campaign Barbón said on four or five occasions that he wanted to govern alone, that with his resignation from the investiture it makes it easier for the socialist candidate to do so without the support of the IU and that the new context must be taken into account political, in which the PP has gained municipal and regional weight, and hopes that it will now also do so in the national. EFE