From Finestrat to València: the controversial transfer of the civil servant and partner of the Valencian president

ValenciaObtaining a service commission is a very common procedure in public 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 obtain 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 Consell, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, who has moved from the Finestrat City Council to the Valencia Provincial Council. 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 dispute has stayed away 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 Diputación de Valencia began her journey at the Finestrat Town Hall as a temporary worker, performing management tasks in the municipal clinic, the justice of the peace court, or the cemetery.A time when the town hall was known for welcoming many PP sympathizers. "She is a hardworking and decisive person, one of those who solve your problems," ARA assured neighbors of the municipality who are not at all close to the conservatives. Others, however, affirm that despite entering the Town Hall when Llorca was not yet mayor, "she has indeed benefited" from her relationship with the now president.

Clash between the Generalitat and the opposition

The Generalitat has expressed annoyance over the controversy and has accused the opposition and the media of "machismo" behavior for targeting a woman because she is the partner of a well-known person. They have also emphasized that Soler was chosen over four candidates and that the process began in July, when Llorca was not president. The opposition does not see it that way, denouncing that out of 40 vacancies to be filled, the only one the Diputación has bothered to fill is the one secured by the partner of the head of the Consell. They have also complained that it was done after the provincial body reactivated the procedure in January and have denounced that the Diputación only granted six business days to apply for a position that was published on its website, but not in the Official Gazette of the Province, and that the rest of the civil servants were not notified either. From the provincial body, however, they have defended that the usual procedure has been applied.