Juanfran Pérez Llorca begins his term by asking "forgiveness" to the victims of the DANA storm.

ValenciaAs he announced during the investiture session last Thursday, the new president of the Valencian Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, began his term by asking for "forgiveness" from the families of the victims of the DANA storm. "Neither on the 29th nor in the days that followed did the public administrations live up to what society deserved," he acknowledged before expressing his hope that his words would foster "reconciliation" within Valencian society. Aware of the extraordinary situation still being experienced by the Valencian Community after the torrential rains, the politician from Finestrat opted for an austere inauguration. It was also non-denominational, as he chose to pledge rather than swear an oath of office. The most moving moment occurred at the beginning when a minute of silence was observed in memory of former president José Luis Olivas, who passed away last Saturday.

In a 12-minute speech, the new head of the Valencian government called for Valencian politics to cease being a space for confrontation and instead become a tool for solving people's problems. Citizens are not demanding "privileges" but simply that things "work," Pérez Llorca asserted. Along the same lines, he emphasized his strong belief in dialogue and agreement. "I want this term to be remembered for that," he stressed. "We were able to reach agreements when everything seemed broken. We will change course amidst the chaos; that is the way forward, that is how we move forward together," he added. The newly inaugurated president of the Generalitat reiterated his intention to put behind him "the year of tension" that began with the devastating floods and the handling of the crisis by his predecessor, when he claimed that the administrations had "distanced themselves from the victims and those affected" by the catastrophe. "They don't deserve to feel any more alone. If we want to move forward, we need to put an end to these debates that only generate resentment," he stated before assuring that his administration will be "open, participatory, cross-cutting, and non-sectarian." During his brief address, the head of the Valencian government also took the time to list what he considers to be the main problems facing Valencian society, including employment, bureaucracy, and housing. He placed particular emphasis on the latter, which he defined as the "central focus" of his term, and asserted that "more supply" and "more legal certainty" are needed—words that seem aimed at appeasing Vox and its demand for zero tolerance regarding employment. The victims demand action, not good intentions.

The Valencian president's good intentions have been met with caution by the Association of Victims of the October 29th DANA Storm and the Association of Fatal Victims of the October 29th DANA Storm, who noted that while they "seem to mark a change in tone compared to his predecessor, leaving behind the usual poor manner," they are "insufficient." "Words, without actions that demonstrate a real willingness to assume responsibility, lose all their value," they warned. Therefore, they demanded the "immediate dismissal of the current Valencian Government, especially the Ministers of Education, José Antonio Rovira; Social Services, Susana Camarero; and Agriculture, Miguel Barrachina." Furthermore, they demanded that "Carlos Mazón not be rewarded with salary supplements or political privileges" and that he resign his seat in the Valencian Parliament.

Tellado's support

As a sign of the exceptional nature of the change at the head of the Generalitat, only the secretary general of the Spanish conservatives, Miguel Tellado, was present at the ceremony representing the national leadership of the People's Party (PP). He promised that Pérez Llorca would accelerate "the reconstruction" and "not fail" the citizens. Unlike two years ago, when the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, attended Mazón's inauguration, this Tuesday no PP regional president supported the new head of the Valencian government. As for the members of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet, the person responsible for representing the State in the parliament was the Spanish government's delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé. Another unknown factor of the session was whether Pérez Llorca's appointment would bring the PP and Vox closer together, a circumstance that does not appear to have occurred. The far-right party maintained its course and did not applaud the head of the Valencian government's speech, just as they did not during the investiture session. Furthermore, at the end of the session, the spokesperson for the far-right party, José María Llanos, warned that their support a few days ago was not a "blank check" and that they would be scrutinizing the conservative politician "from now on."

Mazón: more salary and office for the former president

Beyond the new president's speech, one of the most striking images of the session was the seating arrangement of the now former head of the Council, Carlos Mazón, who sat in the back row of the Valencian conservatives' benches, next to the Vox representatives. This all happened the day after it was revealed that the PP had increased his salary as spokesperson for a committee that never meets. The politician from Alicante has also wasted no time in requesting his former president's office, which will be located in Alicante and will include two advisors and a driver, as already published on the Valencian Government's website.

New Council meeting, this Wednesday at 12 pm

After replacing Mazón, Pérez Llorca's next step will be to announce the composition of his cabinet. At this point, no names have been revealed, and there is much speculation about how many councilors will remain and whether there will be many changes. So far, the Palau de la Generalitat has only stated that the new cabinet will be officially announced this Wednesday at noon.