Sordo (CCOO) defends that Sánchez "must exhaust" the legislature
The leader of CCOO says that the energy transition represents "a competitive advantage that Spain has never had"
SantanderWith the continuity of Pedro Sánchez's government in the spotlight, the general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, has come out in defense of the president of the Spanish executive: "I believe he will not step down from the presidency, nor do I think he should, he must exhaust all that remains of his term", he stated during his speech at the summer course of the Menéndez Pelayo International University and the Association of Journalists of Economic Information, held this week in Santander.
Despite the condemnation of former minister and former socialist leader José Luis Ábalos for corruption to 24 years in prison a few days ago, Sordo warned that it would be an "error" to call early elections because, in his opinion, "the greatest democratic priority" today must be "to prevent the far-right forces from coming to power". However, he warned that "the left cannot just govern to prevent the right from doing so", but must "give a purpose to the legislature". To achieve this, he argued that the development of public policies "influences more" than "many laws that can be made". He gave as an example the expansion of funding for the dependency system. According to him, the composition of Congress already indicated that "it would not be a legislature with a large production of laws".
Spain is moving forward with "solid" foundations
The general secretary of CCOO has boasted about the performance of the Spanish economy: "Never in Spain had the economy and employment, wages and productivity grown at the same time." He assured that it is advancing "comparatively better than other European countries" and with "much more solid foundations." Specifically, he stressed that Spain is "generating more employment" and that it is "qualitatively better", although it continues "having problems and challenges".
In fact, he expressed his conviction that "Spain will reach full employment." He believes that with artificial intelligence "new jobs will appear" and there will be a “transformation” of existing ones. He predicted that the "great challenge will be to ensure that transitions are made fairly".
Energy and housing
In energy matters, Sordo has considered that the energy transition represents "a competitive advantage that Spain has never had", because if, until now, in his opinion the State has tried to compete with other territories through low wages, now it can turn renewables into "the great industrial attraction factor".
Regarding housing, he has criticized the policy of recent decades, which he has described as "erroneous" because – in his opinion – it has consisted of "artificially keeping prices high" through tax exemptions. He has warned that the State is "changing the ownership structure," traditionally of "very many small owners."
To face the challenge, he warned that "one measure or two is not enough, what is needed is to tackle many areas." Along these lines, he showed himself to be in favor of "questioning the right to unrestricted property when we are talking about a social good", and advocated for "disincentivizing" empty housing and for "prohibit the alternative uses of housing" in overcrowded territories, in reference to tourist homes.