This Sunday marks the first hundred days of the Alicante Provincial Council’s new mandate. In just over three months, the new president, Tony Perez, has managed to outline the lines of action he plans to pursue at the State House over the next four years. The mayor of Benidorm has made it clear in his inauguration speech that his top priority is to maintain the continuity of the policies introduced by his predecessor, the current Generalitat president Carlos Mazón.
PP grants PSPV representation in the autonomous units of the Provincial Council to preserve unanimity in the general assembly
However, despite this stated principle, Perez and Mazón diverge on certain points. The current president seeks to soften the political tone in the Provincial Assembly and hopes this period will be remembered for governance rather than a battle with other administrations. He advocates two core commitments: a strong devotion to municipal interests and a keen focus on enacting measures that benefit small municipalities. This does not mean there will be hesitation to defend the province on critical matters such as water, the status of the tourism sector, and the ongoing economic crisis. The Cooperation Fund remains a focal point. On the other hand, the opposition, which has faced some friction in these first hundred days—particularly with the PSPV-PSOE over the distribution of consultants and the structuring of organizational charts for bodies affiliated with the Provincial Assembly—is stepping up its demands. Preparations for next year’s budgets are about to begin, with extensive talks and negotiations on funding allocations ahead.
Contention
Continuity in the Provincial Assembly reached a notable level when the debate centered on the Cooperation Fund. The political landscape shifted this time because both the Provincial Palace and the Generalitat are governed by the PP. It stands in contrast to the previous period, when Mazón was involved in a major clash with Ximo Puig’s Botànic over the municipal investment plan. Indeed, the Cooperation Fund dominated the agenda at the October annual meeting, as the PSPV claimed that the province had recently halted funding—amounting to 100 million euros over the last seven years. Perez has defended the autonomy of the Alicante Provincial Council to allocate funds among municipalities, underscoring the importance of local decision-making power.
Perez also noted that although the political weight of his final term was not the central burden, the Constitutional Court recently annulled Article 7 of the regional law on account of not following the same distribution criteria used at the state level. The leaders of Valencia and Castellón’s state institutions, along with prominent figures Vicente Mompó and Marta Barrachina, are working on the new Cooperation Fund that the PP and Vox’s councilors want to launch. The plan would be voluntary in nature and aimed at providing a flexible tool for municipalities to address local needs.
Recently, the Provincial Council carried out an alternative investment project to Botànic called Plan + Nearby. The continuity of this program remains assured at this stage, as shown by the approval of the first 30 million for this year’s allocation in September, bringing the total to 45 million euros. A major objective before the end of 2023 is the acceleration of the Alicante Conference Center project. After some delays, the selection of a project from hundreds of proposals is scheduled for November.
Good relationship
Although Tony Pérez and the socialist group’s spokesperson, Vicente Arques, began their term by asserting a good working relationship, several conflicts have already emerged. The first clash occurred at the inaugural general meeting in August, centering on the distribution of advisors. The second took place at the last plenary session on the 20th, focusing on the governance of boards of directors for bodies affiliated with the Provincial Assembly, such as Suma, the Tourist Board, and Gil-Albert. Arques accused the president of imposing a rounding that granted him an absolute majority for the PP, which Pérez did not welcome. He has emphasized that one of the goals of this mandate is to foster dialogue with opposition groups. Ultimately, the PP granted the socialist group a representative to help bridge these gaps.
Beyond the narrow lines of the government program, other parties are evaluating these first hundred days. A spokesperson from Compromís observes that the Provincial Assembly has not yet lived up to the expectations of a populace eager for agility and effectiveness. Ximo Perles notes that these hundred days are marked by a conspicuous silence and a missed opportunity to address the shortcomings of the previous term. Vox, too, has faced delays, with some budget discussions not yet held. The overall mood among observers is that the administration needs to demonstrate greater responsiveness and a clearer, more proactive agenda for the province and its municipalities, if it wishes to satisfy the public’s demand for concrete results.