From Finestrat to Valencia: the controversial transfer of the Valencian president's civil servant partner

ValenciaObtaining a service commission is a very common procedure in the administration that allows a public worker to change the organization in which they perform their duties. The controversy arises when there is doubt as to whether the employee has benefited from any preferential treatment to achieve it. This is the debate that has monopolized Valencian politics this week following the transfer of Vanesa Soler, the partner of the head of the Council, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, who has moved from the Finestrat City Council to the Diputació de València. The change has allowed her to establish her residence in the city of Valencia where her sentimental partner also lives.

Despite the media noise, the protagonist of the spat has kept her distance from the conflict. Perhaps this way she has avoided more details of her personal life becoming known. Born in Benidorm, she is the daughter of Vicent Soler, a hotelier who runs an establishment in the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca, very close to the Popular Party. Regarding her professional career, the new official of the Diputació de València began her journey at the Finestrat Town Hall as a temporary worker, carrying out management tasks at the municipal health center, the justice of the peace, or the cemetery. A time when the council was known for welcoming many PP sympathizers. "She is a hardworking and decisive person, one of those who solve your problems," neighbors of the municipality who are not at all close to the conservatives assured ARA. Others, however, state that although she entered the Town Hall when Llorca was not yet mayor, "she has benefited" from her relationship with the current president.

Clash between the Generalitat and the opposition

From the Generalitat, they have shown annoyance at the controversy and have accused the opposition and the media of "sexist" behavior for singling out a woman because she is the partner of a well-known person. They also emphasized that Soler beat four candidates and that the process began in July, when Llorca was not president. The opposition does not see it that way, denouncing that of 40 vacancies to fill, the only one the Diputació has bothered to fill is the one won by the partner of the head of the Council. They have also complained that it was done after the provincial body reactivated the procedure in January and have denounced that the Diputació only granted six business days to register for a position that was published on its website, but not in the Official Gazette of the Province, and that it was not notified to the rest of the officials either. From the provincial body, however, they have defended that the usual procedure has been applied.