Saturday, June 11, 2011

Dawn of a new era

2011-06-18_IMG_2011-06-11_02.17.55__S0501VEGA.jpgFinally, the PP and the UPLC signed their pact yesterday at the new headquarters of the PP (next door to the hairdressers that Pam and I go to).

That means that today, Charo Bañuls should be elected as mayor of Bigastro ending 28 years of socialist rule in the town. This will be a double honour because she will be both the town’s first non-socialist and its first lady mayor.

Addressing the media, Bañuls said that a change in the town was both necessary and urgent adding that it could only be realized through the covenant that the two parties have made. She went on to say said that there was an affinity between the programs of the two parties but stressed that what united them most was the desire to work for Bigastro and take the town out of its current bankrupt state.

Charo Bañuls, a graduate in law, admits that this will be a difficult challenge and said that the coalition will start by controlling spending and working on debt reduction and added that this will necessitate a project based on austerity and efficiency in administration and especially transparency. The PP and UPLC want to end the lack of control over the economy, the debts, the defaults, the informality, the cronyism and favouritism which they say the town has suffered from under the socialists.

As a starting point they will commission an audit of the finances of Bigastro going back over 10 years to reveal the true position of the town. From there, they will be able to draw up more concrete plans of how the savings can be made.

The jobs will be divided between the two parties; Bañuls will be Mayor, Sonia Belmont will be deputy, the PP councillors will be responsible for Finance, Employment, Social Affairs, Sports and Youth leaving the two members of the UPLC to take responsibility for Planning, Works, Services, Education, Maintenance and festivities with Aurelio Murcia as their spokesperson.

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