It’s like putting a band-aid on the wound, but looking at the way things are going in terms of state investments in Alicante, it wouldn’t hurt to take precautions. And Ruth Merino, Minister of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, He showed that the province is open to compensation from the Generalitat if it lands at the bottom again in the 2024 General Budgets. This all took place in a context where a Consell spokesman assured that it would not cut essential services and would be more efficient when it came to regional budgets.
The province of Alicante has been largely forgotten in the General Budgets year after year, falling to last place at the national level with investments of just over 160 million euros, a dynamic that hit rock bottom this year. It was the worst figure in history and was less than a third of the population volume. This situation caused a real political storm and mobilization of businessmen, trade unions and civil society in general, which served to slightly improve investments in the process of introducing changes, without going beyond a slight facelift.
The question that emerged after Consell’s plenary session on Tuesday was what measures would be taken if the state was again at the bottom of the State Budget next year. And Ruth Merino’s response was to try to compensate for this victimization. The new regional government initially hopes the problem will not be repeated but if that were the case, the councilor says “we would condemn it” and also Needs that the Spanish Government cannot meet will be analyzed “To be there for this state as much as possible,” he adds. However, it is immediately possible to clarify that the problem does not only affect Alicante, but “also affects the rest, because they often do not benefit from the investments of the state.”
And in this sense, he touched on a number of issues that Community Management considers important: Expansion of the Port of Valencia, support for the ceramic industry and waterThe latter is of great importance to guarantee the continuity of the agricultural sector in the south of the province of Alicante. “The fact is that the Community is subject to constant neglect by the Spanish Government.”
All this means that the current political context is not quite right, as long as there are budgets at the national level, it is not yet known whether Pedro Sánchez will be able to re-elect the presidency or will have to call new elections. Best case scenario for accounts verification. Actually, The possibility of an extension grows stronger with each passing day..
On the other hand, Consell’s compensation gesture towards the province of Alicante He will continue the dynamic already undertaken by Botànic’s previous managerWhen it sought to compensate with investments of 610 million euros through the 2023 Generalitat Budget, they argued that this figure represented 40% of total regionalized investments, above its population weight.
Merinos, on the other hand, touched upon the current situation in the preparation of the Generalitat Budgets and stated that they are at the final stage and will be presented “at the regulatory time”, although without specifying the date. they are still working on it. But what he ensures is this: They will not make cuts to essential services like Health, Education or Addictionand that every game will be run more efficiently than ever before. But he also warned that resources are “as they are” and that 2024 accounts will be rigorous and should be prioritized. Merino emphasizes that what will be cut are “unnecessary expenses, hypocrisy, political expenses and dispensables that do not affect the well-being of citizens.”