ACN
This was assured yesterday by the general secretary of the Canarian Socialist Party (PSC), Juan Carlos Alemán, who concluded that Coalición Canaria is currently "the main obstacle" to a reform of the Statute of Autonomy in the Canary Islands.
Alemán maintained that Paulino Rivero's statements show that the nationalists "have begun to renounce making a good Statute for the Canary Islands" so that there are no changes in the electoral system.
These statements are, for the socialist leader, "tremendously serious", since they mean that the party of the Government of the Canary Islands "launches a torpedo in the waterline" to the project that, by the will of the Canarian president, Adán Martín, aims to be the "star achievement" of this legislature. Although Alemán recalled that it was because of the PSOE's access to power in Madrid that people began to talk about Statutes, he insisted that it was Adán Martín who wanted to make the reform project his own and turn it into the main achievement for the Archipelago of this legislature.
"There has been a clear disavowal of CC to the Presidency of the Government because they are starting to say that the Statute no longer matters." What Juan Carlos Alemán made clear is that the socialists "will not give their affirmative vote to the Statute under any circumstances if there is no agreement to change the electoral law beforehand." In addition, the socialist leader maintained that this reform must be undertaken quickly, warning that "if a reasonable agreement has not been reached by December 31", 2006 "will be a bad year" to do so, as it is a "pre-election year".
"It is not possible to ask for more powers without having more democracy", Alemán insisted, referring to what he considers an "unfair" imbalance in the value of a vote between the capital and non-capital islands and the existence of percentage barriers in the current system. The socialist leader criticized the nationalists for now insinuating that more powers can be obtained without resorting to a reform of the Statute through what they call a 'new Lotraca'.
For the PSC, "a new Statute can be made and more powers can also be obtained through another law", which shows that "what" the nationalists "are clear about" is that they do not want electoral reform. Faced with this fact, Alemán warned that "the PSC is not in the fig tree", and will not allow the Statute to be approved with the maximum possible increase in powers for the Canary Islands and, once resolved, the electoral law is blocked in some way.
The socialists, Alemán affirmed, have already shown their cards: they want the maximum powers for the Canary Islands and a good electoral reform. Now it is up to the nationalists to specify their position. Faced with this, the socialist leader maintained that "despite the ups and downs of CC, an agreement is still possible" which, he said, would be "historic" for the Archipelago.
An "electoral" challenge
Regarding electoral reform, Alemán criticized the nationalists for having played in recent days with their claim that if there is a regional list, it should be through a single ballot. For the PSC, this claim "has been a challenge", given that the nationalists themselves do not want this possibility given their clear lack of "regional leaderships" that could improve their results on that regional list.
After launching that proposal, Alemán recalled, the PSC accepted it, and two days later they backed down again by making it clear that nothing would happen if there is no statutory reform. "Now they don't even talk about proposals, and they only go backwards", he criticized.
