The Valencian PP modulates its criticism of the Valencian requirement for the 'Feijóo effect'

The Valencian PP avoided yesterday going out in a rush like the rest of the opposition against the linguistic requirement before “seeing the fine print”.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
29 November 2022 Tuesday 23:34
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The Valencian PP modulates its criticism of the Valencian requirement for the 'Feijóo effect'

The Valencian PP avoided yesterday going out in a rush like the rest of the opposition against the linguistic requirement before “seeing the fine print”. The words of the PP spokesperson in Les Corts Valencianes, María José Català, were not in the same vein as those of Vox or Ciudadanos who, without yet knowing the details of the agreement, did show their firm opposition to the Valencian becoming considered a requirement rather than a merit.

"Valencian must be respected, spoken and promoted, but what cannot be is that obstacles and barriers are placed on the arrival of people from other communities," said the trustee of Ciudadanos Ruth Merino. Vox's deputy spokesman, José María Llanos, for his part, rejected "the imposition" of the language requirement, and that, furthermore, what is required is not Valencian, but Catalan. Meanwhile, Catalá modulated the criticism.

Yes, he denounced the existence of a "hidden requirement" in the health branch due to the fact that knowledge of Valencian scores more than a doctorate. The popular trustee said that it seems dangerous to her that Valencian is valued more than deep knowledge of one of the health specialties. Thus, he stressed that the agreement must be seen and questioned the fact that only students who have completed the Baccalaureate can access C1 (the requirement for applicants to the highest levels of Public Administration). As of the 2021 and 2022 courses, he understands that it could be discriminatory.

With all this, he wanted to wait to see "the fine print" to be able to analyze the agreement in depth. "Any serious party to rule on this issue needs to see the agreement black on white," settled the spokesperson for the popular group.

And it is that yesterday both the Minister of Education, Raquel Tamarit (Compromís), and of Public Administration, Gabriela Bravo (PSPV), highlighted that the Valencian model was inspired by Galician requirements. A whole declaration of intent since the current national president of the PP, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, was president of that community between 2009 and 2022.

A circumstance that conditions the discourse of the Valencian PP in an autonomy with two official languages ​​as happens in Galicia. In this historical fiefdom of the popular autonomy, article 51 of Law 2/2015, of April 29, on public employment in Galicia establishes that "to comply with the normalization of the Galician language in the public administrations of Galicia and to guarantee the right to use Galician in relations with public administrations within the Autonomous Community, as well as the promotion of the normal use of Galician by the public powers of Galicia, in the selective tests that are carried out for access to public administration positions [...] will include a Galician test, except for those people who prove knowledge of the Galician language".

Some arguments to justify the requirement - normalize and promote the language and guarantee the right to use the language - that the Valencian councilors used on Monday to justify the application of the requirement.

Sources from the Consell that have studied the Galician model to prepare the Valencian proposal explain to La Vanguardia that indeed a Galician exam is given even to doctors, although in this case the test is not eliminatory.

As in the Valencian case, the same sources explain, in Galicia a knowledge of their own language is required depending on the category to which they apply, as established in a generic decree.