VEGARA AND MESTRE - FOR THE GOOD OF ORIHUELA

The Popular Party and Vox have reached a government agreement in Orihuela. The announcement was made in the Casino de Orihuela, just 24 hours before Saturday’s investiture.

Until that point, everything seemed to indicate that the PP, led by José Vegara, would go into the investiture alone, with a view to closing a deal later. However, the numerous agreements that had been achieved between the two parties throughout the week, at the regional level and in nearby towns and cities such as Elche, encouraged the two Orihuela based parties to bring their arrangement forward.

The agreement includes the creation of the Department of Family and the Coast, which will be led by Vox and while Equality is integrated into Social Welfare, it will lose the nomenclature of LGTBI.

As part of the agreement, General Mestre and his VOX councillors will take over the departments of Culture, Tourism, Family, Youth, Statistics, Citizen Participation and Orihuela Costa. It will be allocated its own budget with additional responsibilities that will also include Beaches and International Residents. The PP will allocate its councillor responsibilities in the coming days, maintaining most of those that currently exist, including Social Welfare and Equality.

In line with their shared vision, the PP and Vox will work together during the legislature to implement various policies that will benefit the residents of Orihuela.

Some of the priority areas include tax reductions, security, a comprehensive cleaning plan, the reduction of bureaucratic obstacles, the creation of the Family Department and the rehabilitation of the Historic Centre. This governance agreement represents a shared commitment by the PP and Vox to work together for the benefit of all Oriolanos.

The signing of the agreement was made following meetings between the two candidates, Manuel Mestre of Vox and Pepe Vegara of the PP, who have always said that Orihuela is the priority, guaranteeing what will be their common objective for the good of the municipality.

For the moment the signs do look encouraging, particularly when reading through the VOX Election Manifesto, which includes many of the demands that coastal residents have been making for years. The proof, of course, will be “in the pudding.”

As well as a dedicated budget and a councillor for the coast, other pre-election promises made by VOX include: Library, Civic Centre.

Cleaning and Urban Cleaning plan.

Maintenance of parks and gardens. Multicultural Auditorium.

Service Social: Day Centre, Festivals, Culture, Sports…

Second Health Centre.

Pedestrian walkway over the Lomas de Cabo Roig Bridge. Fully operational Emergency Centre with Municipal staff. Expressway parallel to the N-332 from Los Altos to Lomas Cabo Roig.

Skate Park for young people. Bus Station.

Rainfall plan.

Comprehensive asphalt plan. Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, Pepe Vegara was formally appointed as the Orihuela Mayor. Immediately after the investiture General Mestre opened the session in which he invited the 25 newly elected councillors to enter one by one, and to take their oath of office.

The PSOE led the way, followed by Vox, Cambiemos, Ciudadanos and PP, to be sworn in and take their place in the plenary.

In one bench sat the 6 socialist councillors, the 4 from Vox and the 3 from Ciudadanos, while in the other the 2 from Cambiemos and the 10 from the PP.

Unlike the rest of the members, the two Cambiemos councillors, Carlos Bernabé and Leticia Pertegal, varied their oath by stating that they will show loyalty to the head of State, avoiding naming the king.

THE ECONOMY AND ENERGY KICKSTART THE WEEK AHEAD

This week starts with the publication of the report on the Spanish economy published by the Bank of Spain, which will also release its macro projections for the second quarter. In the EU, Energy Ministers will meet for the reform of the electricity market, where they will try to reach a general orientation on the reform of the configuration of the EU market. All on a festive day in the US, Juneteenth, in which Wall Street will remain closed.

In the UK on Monday, the Royal College of Nurses have planned a day of action to boost support for the next strike ballot which will close later in the week.

His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, together with Her Majesty Queen Rania, will be meeting with King Filipe in Madrid on Monday.

On Tuesday, Queen Sofia will attend the closing ceremony and concert of the 2022-2023 Academic Year of the music school which carries her name, as this week children across the country prepare to take a well-earned break from their studies to enjoy summer.

Of course, we mustn´t forget that Boris Johnson will be in the news on Monday, as MPs vote on the findings of the report that condemned him for deliberately misleading Parliament, which might be a welcome distraction to another former Prime Minister, David Cameron, as he is the first politician to appear before the Covid-19 inquiry as they look at how policies prior to the pandemic may have shaped the response.

Other key politicians will follow Cameron, and as for the science bit, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and former Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance appear on Thursday.

A report on the economy will be published on Monday

As for the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, his luck is in as whenever there is a crisis there is always Ukraine to deflect attention, and that will be the case this time when he hosts the Ukraine Recovery Conference on Wednesday and Thursday.

He might be less inclined to draw attention to the fact that on Wednesday, the latest inflation figures for the UK will be published, followed by a decision on Thursday by the Bank of England on interest rates, as the UK is still struggling with the cost of living crisis, made worse, according to the majority of financial experts, by BREXIT, which is also marked this week as Friday marks seven years since the

UK held the referendum on EU membership. Also in the UK this week, the Electoral Commission publishes a report on their analysis of how successful (or not) the implementation of the new voter ID rules have been. With some economists predicting a crash in the UK property market, it might be interesting to see the results of the UK House Price Index on Wednesday, but the day before, the ONS release their report on holiday homes in England and Wales.

Finally, the Prince of Wales turns 42 this week, and we mark the 75th birthday of the modern computer. Celebrate either at your own will.

LOS

ORIHUELA

Detached Villa With Private Pool

Totally refurbished 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, villa with large southfacing terrace.