The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and the spokesman for the Vox Municipal Group, Javier Ortega Smith, met this Wednesday to try to reach an agreement on urban regulations in the capital, but they left it talking about possible pacts and agreements after May 28 or the interest of the PP in governing alone, reports Servimedia.
The first to go out to speak to the media was the municipal spokesman for Vox, who hoped to be able to "form a government" between the Popular Party and Vox in the capital starting on May 28 "with the same right that has been a coalition government with Ciudadanos”.
He commented that "I always want to see things with optimism and I want to think that, despite the electoral and campaign differences, after May 28 the mayor and I, representing the PP and Vox, can understand each other and we can form a government".
Ortega Smith stressed that said government would use public resources "in the most efficient way", would lower taxes "to the minimum possible" and would achieve a Madrid where one can live "quietly, safely and with clean streets."
The Vox spokesman and candidate for mayor was confident that they could achieve it, but qualified that "this does not mean that the road is easy", but "it is our obligation to try".
Ortega Smith stressed that in the municipal elections "we will have to understand each other" because "if the PP or Vox does not achieve an absolute majority and we do not understand each other, the left will govern."
In this sense, he remarked that, "with the same right that there has been a coalition government with Ciudadanos, those of Vox have the same right to be the ones who enter to govern in the City Council, with institutional respect and with loyal collaboration with the pacts we make."
In this regard, he indicated that the people of Madrid "what they do not want is that, in the end, because they are not able to understand each other, the left ends up governing in Madrid, where we have already seen the disasters of all kinds that it has caused."
So, "we are going to work in this campaign to have the maximum possible result and need as little as possible from another party." Also, he assured that "it will not be possible to govern alone", so "I think that the forces of PP and Vox will be able to prevent the left from governing and provide an alternative for Madrid that is based on efficiency, in freedom and respect for the people of Madrid”.
The Vox spokesman asked Almeida what he is going to do if he does not have an absolute majority and if he is going to govern with Más Madrid or with the PSOE. "I think the mayor prefers to govern infinitely with Vox rather than with Más Madrid or the PSOE", but "unfortunately anything is possible".
Finally, Ortega Smith affirmed that, "if in the future we govern together, we will design budgets in which both parties agree and we will defend them tooth and nail."
For his part, the Madrid councilor denied these conversations and stated that this morning's meeting was "exclusively" about unblocking the approval of some "extraordinarily important" urban regulations for the city of Madrid, which "could already be approved, but since they are not, we are negotiating with Vox to try to unblock them."
In this sense, he commented that he was not going to talk about what Ortega Smith has said or has not said, but "I have not talked about a coalition government, nor about the will to govern in collation with Vox", because "it was not the object of of the meeting".
Almeida stressed that no more coalition government is being considered than with the people of Madrid and no electoral result was proposed other than a "vast majority" of Madrid people who give him their confidence "to be able to govern alone."
The mayor remarked that this is the approach that they are going to make to the whole of Madrid, that "there be a solid, strong, stable government, backed by a large majority of Madrid." Thus, he pointed out that, if the others want to propose coalition governments, "it indicates that they know that they will not have the majority support of the people of Madrid."
Asked then for the reasons why Ortega Smith has come out speaking to the media on this issue, he attributed his words to the fact that "we are 89 days away from the elections and each one must have their own electoral strategy given the proximity of the 28 of May".
For this reason, he stressed that "the only thing I can tell you is that I have not talked about a coalition government and that I remain in my firm intention to govern alone as of May 28", because "that will mean that we have convinced to a vast majority."
The mayor pointed out that speaking of coalition governments, "as the rest of the municipal groups such as the PSOE, Más Madrid, Unidas Podemos, Vox or Ciudadanos speak", is because "they know that they will not be able to convince that vast majority of Madrileños to form a government alone”.
For this reason, Almeida confirmed that "we have different objectives", because "my objective is to convince the widest number of people from Madrid to have a government alone", while that of the rest of the municipal groups is "to see if, together with others, they can reach the government of the Madrid City Council”. "They won't find me there," he concluded.
