The Andalusian Government omits the legal report on Moreno's salary increase by decree law

The Andalusian Government chaired by Juan Manuel Moreno has omitted to include in the file of the decree law on the salary increase of all senior officials of the Junta de Andalucía the mandatory legal report on the measure. The opposition suspects that this is not an oversight, but rather an intentional “concealment” because they believe that it does not endorse the extraordinary and urgent need for the initiative. The Andalusian Government has not wanted to give an explanation.

The Permanent Deputation of the Andalusian Parliament, the governing body of the Chamber in non-working periods such as the current one, has validated the decree with the support of the absolute majority of the PP and the abstention of the socialist group despite the fact that its spokesperson, Josele Aguilar, has made a harsh allegation that did not point to that inhibition. The PSOE vote was decided at the last moment, according to socialist sources.

The initiative represents a salary increase of around 15% for a total of 269 senior members of the Board. The president, Juan Manuel Moreno, will go from earning 71,1667 euros annually to 87,333, 18.8% more. The advisor to the Presidency, Antonio Sanz, has justified the salary increase in that “it seems logical to seek balance” with the salaries of the Andalusian deputies and the representatives of other autonomous communities. Until now, Moreno's salary was the third lowest, only above the president of Cantabria (65,555 euros), and practically on par with that of Asturias (75,548 euros). After the review, the salary of the popular leader is slightly above the average, 87,206 euros, behind that of Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, Madrid, the Basque Country and Catalonia. The increase will mean an impact of 2.5 million euros on the Budget.

But the criticism from opposition groups has not been so much about the substance, but about the way of approving the increase in remuneration: by decree law. Both the Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy provide for this route “in case of extraordinary and urgent need.” The Andalusian Government dedicates several paragraphs in the text of the regulation to justify this haste: “The need for remuneration to be adapted from the beginning of the budget year.” The autonomous Executive was able to include these increases in the community Budget bill approved on December 21, but the fear that the Accounts debate would revolve around an issue that in Andalusia has always been undertaken with complexes and in a embarrassing, as parliamentary sources admit, led him to use the most expeditious route. In addition, the Moreno Government announced the decree law validated this Wednesday on the same day that the forced resignations of two senior officials of the Ministry of Health took place, to lessen its impact.

“The decree law is an exception for reasons of extraordinary and urgent need and that is not supported. Where is the legal report that supports this? Why is it not included in the decree file? “Is it not included because it seems unconstitutional?” asked the spokesperson for Por Andalucía—Sumar's regional brand—Inma Nieto. This group has voted against.

The socialist Josele Aguilar has also assured that “there is no extraordinary and urgent need” and has complained about the omission of the report from the Board's Legal Office. “It has been processed almost clandestinely, at Christmas time, six days after the Budget was approved, with opacity and cynicism,” stated the PSOE spokesperson, who has used newspaper archives to remember what the current advisor to the Presidency said when He was in the opposition in relation to the salaries, allowances and payment of rent for the homes of senior officials. His forcefulness against the decree-law has not been reflected in the vote since the socialists have abstained.

Both the spokesperson for Vox, Manuel Gavira, and that of the mixed group, José Ignacio García, from Adelante Andalucía, have defended expanding the debate on salaries in politics, the first to reduce incompatibilities and the second to compare the salaries of politicians with the average salary of Andalusians (1,625 euros).

The PP spokesperson, Toni Martín, has recognized that “it is never a good time” to take a measure of this type and has attacked the opposition when it has accused him of “cheating” by ensuring that the salary of parliamentary spokespersons is higher than that of the Andalusian president. To reach this conclusion, the PP adds fixed salaries and compensation for travel expenses.

Legal sources in Parliament consider that the rule could be annulled by the Constitutional Court and criticize “the blatant use of a regulatory instrument to serve the purely personal interests of politicians, which is something very different from political interests.” The guarantee court will not have that opportunity because no one considers appealing it.

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