JUANMA Moreno has been re-elected president of Andalucia after striking a historic, eleventh-hour coalition deal with Vox.
The regional Partido Popular (PP) leader secured 68 votes in favour during yesterday’s investiture vote, the second held this week.
His coalition agreement with Vox reportedly comprises 150 policy measures, including the far-right party’s controversial ‘national priority’ agenda – a plan that seeks to prioritise Spaniards over foreigners in access to aid and benefits.
The deal hands Moreno a three-fifths majority in the Andalucian parliament after he failed to secure the presidency on Tuesday, falling just two votes short of forming a government.
Asked by reporters about his pact with Vox, Moreno said: “The agreement is sensible, reasonable and legal.”
He added: “In the end, the voters have the final say. If they had wanted me to have a clear majority, they would have given me enough votes.”
As part of the agreement, Moreno appointed Andalucian Vox leader Manuel Gavira as one of his deputy presidents.
He also handed Vox councillor posts covering tourism, deregulation, justice and local government.
The deal is raising concerns across Andalucia, with some policies seeking to apply Vox’s national priority agenda to sectors including public housing and healthcare.
According to the agreement, access to public assistance would require ‘real, lasting, and verifiable ties’ to Andalucia and Spain.
For housing, the deal proposes a requirement of 10 years of registered residence (empadronamiento) to purchase subsidised public housing, and five years to qualify for social rental housing.
In healthcare, it envisages an annual audit of the cost of treating foreign nationals in the Andalucian health system.
The policy document also outlines tougher immigration measures, including a ban on burqas in public spaces and the repatriation of unaccompanied migrant minors to their countries of origin.
One line in the text states that all measures would be rolled out based on ‘the inherent dignity of every human being as a non-negotiable principle.’
The cross-party agreement has stirred controversy in the region, with Socialist PSOE’s Maria Jesus Montero describing the deal as ‘shameful.’
“Today marks a historic turning point in Andalucia: for the first time since the Franco dictatorship, the far right is joining the Andalucian government,” Montero said.
“And it is doing so through a shameful deal in two respects.
“First, because of the complete secrecy with which [Moreno] negotiated with the far right … Second, because this is not a deal made in Andalucia but one struck in Madrid.”
Montero said the Andalucian parliament had ‘no knowledge’ of the agreement’s contents just minutes before yesterday’s vote, while national PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo announced it from Madrid.
“[That] shows where the real decisions were actually made,” Montero added.
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