When the president of Congress, the socialist Francina Armengol, announced this Wednesday in the middle of a control session a recess to discuss the possibility of suspending the plenary session, the thing seemed like a matter of minutes. The day in the Lower House had begun dully, with an obligatory minute of silence for the victims of the DANA, and its memory distorted from the beginning the usual quarrel between their lordships. The corruption surrounding the Government and the alleged sexual abuse of Íñigo Errejón remained in the background and the speakers, from the opposition and the Executive, began their interventions with messages of affection to those affected by the storm. Already early in the morning Tomorrow, at eight fifteen, the spokesperson for the Popular Parliamentary Group, Miguel Tellado, sent a message to Armengol urging him to celebrate a minute of silence for the fatalities. Then there was only talk of thirteen deaths. Sources from the Presidency of Congress, consulted by ABC, assure that she had already conveyed her willingness to do so to her cabinet at seven in the morning. Careers aside, your Lordships’ cell phones received a definitive notification. There were already fifty dead. A number, unfortunately, that increased. Tellado himself raised his voice, asked to speak and asked Armengol to suspend the plenary session given the circumstances. His socialist counterpart, Patxi López, supported him at first and the Compromís deputy Àgueda Micó emphasized what was on everyone’s mind: “There are fifty dead.” At that moment, Armengol declared a recess and their lordships began to discuss what was the best decision. First the Congress Board met and then the Board of Spokespersons. Standard Related News Yes The Government will place Bolaños’ press chief and a former PSOE communications director Emilio V. Escudero José Pablo López on the RTVE board, the content director fired months ago by Elena Sánchez, emerges as a possible replacement for Cascajosa at the head of RTVEThe members of the PP in the governing body of the Lower House defend the suspension of all parliamentary activity, but discrepancies already arise there: the socialists ask that a distinction be made between “governing” and “legislating” and they advocate postponing the ordinary plenary session, that of control to the Executive, but not the extraordinary one to validate the RTVE decree with which the PSOE and its partners will ensure their control. In the Board of Spokespersons, according to parliamentary sources in conversation with this newspaper, Tellado is also betting on a suspension of all activity. It seemed at first that this was what was going to be done, but everything changes when López and the first vice president of the Board, Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis, arrive at the meeting. Vox supports the criteria of the PP, but the socialists convince their partners. Yes, the ordinary plenary session, the commissions and the activity of this Thursday were postponed. The deputy of Sumar Aina Vidal, according to sources present, argued that since the deputies were not going to move to the affected areas in eastern Spain, it made no sense to suspend the debate on the decree; only the control session because of his harsh tone. The decision caused a boycott of that debate by PP, Vox and Compromís, especially affected by the tragedy as it was a Valencian party. The Government’s argument does not explain why the ordinary plenary session – including the votes on the issues debated the day before –, the committees and the legislative activity that was scheduled for this Thursday were postponed. The Senate, unanimously, canceled everything scheduled for this week and will honor this Thursday the victims of the tragedy in the Plaza de la Marina Española. Reactions President of the PP Alberto Núñez Feijóo «Efforts must focus on working together. A plenary session does not make sense with what is happening” Spokesperson for the PSOE in Congress Patxi López “The decision has been to suspend the plenary session of control and maintain the legislative activity of Parliament” Spokesperson for Vox in Congress Pepa Millán “Today the Politics should not be news and, nevertheless, we witness with astonishment a Dantesque spectacle” Compromís Deputy Àgueda Micó “We are in a moment of mourning and we are not going to participate in the plenary session that is being held” Gabriel Rufián, from ERC, slipped in the Board of Spokespersons that the PP only wanted the RTVE decree not to be validated, according to sources present, to which Tellado responded with the absolute availability of his party to debate it any other day. The PP and Vox were left alone, while Junts put itself in profile, pointing out that the Parliament had indeed suspended its activity, but left the decision in the hands of the majority.
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