PP, Compromís, and Vox have criticized that the ‘former president’ of the Generalitat Ximo Puig has hired the nephew of his partner, the former councilor Gabriela Bravo, as his driver in his ‘former president’ office, while the PSPV has defended the figure of the one who was his secretary general and has recalled that this is a position of free appointment in which a person from the family environment can be hired, just as politicians from other parties do in other administrations.
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This is how they have assessed the hiring of this person as temporary staff at Puig’s service, with driver functions, at the proposal of the ‘former president’ in accordance with Law 6/2022 of the Statute of Former Presidents of the Generalitat, which was published last Thursday in the Official Gazette (DOGV) after the dismissal of the previous driver “for personal reasons.”
From the PP, its spokesperson in Les Corts, Nando Pastor, has reproached the PSPV for months ago criticizing with “unprecedented machismo” the access of the partner of the ‘president’ of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, to a civil servant position in the Diputació de València – which he ultimately refused to consolidate – and now this hiring of Bravo’s nephew as Puig’s driver comes to light, who “some say lives like a king in Paris” as ambassador to the OECD. “A lot of hypocrisy and a lot of lack of coherence,” he summarized.
Pastor has reproached the PSPV for months ago criticizing with “unprecedented machismo” the access of Pérez Llorca’s partner to a civil servant position
Regarding Compromís’s proposal to remove privileges from all ‘former presidents’, he has maintained that the Valencianists want to “beat around the bush,” while asking to differentiate the Statute of Former Presidents from the hiring of Puig’s driver “just for being Bravo’s nephew.” Furthermore, he emphasized that he does not consider this case comparable to that of Llorca’s partner.
“What we are talking about has nothing to do with what Compromís proposes. I understand they are nervous. I have always been told that Fanta has no caffeine, but I see them very nervous,” Pastor said, referring to the label that the PP usually gives the coalition as the Government of Pedro Sánchez’s “pagafantas.”
Baldoví has wondered “why does Ximo Puig want a driver if he is in Paris”
For his part, the spokesperson of Compromís, Joan Baldoví, has pointed out that the groups that reject the hiring of the former councilor’s nephew have this Friday the opportunity to vote in favor of his amendment to the accompanying law to remove privileges from the ‘former presidents’.
Baldoví has wondered “why does Ximo Puig want a driver if he is in Paris” and why the ‘former presidents’ Francisco Camps and Carlos Mazón need a driver “if they do absolutely nothing.” “If a ‘former president’ of the Generalitat needs a car to go to an event, they should request it from Les Corts and it will be provided,” he defended.
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For the Vox spokesperson, José Mª Llanos, the hiring of Bravo’s nephew is “an anecdote,” although he emphasized that “Caesar’s wife or the emperor’s man not only has to be a moral person but also appear to be one.”
Muñoz has stated that he values it the same as “that of Mª José Catalá’s sister in the City Council or Susana Camarero’s brother” as regional secretary
And he has indicated that “maybe there were other people also capable of occupying Puig’s driver position.” In any case, he added that Vox is not surprised by this signing because he compared it to the cases of the brother and wife of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
Against these criticisms, the PSPV spokesperson, José Muñoz, has stressed that he will never question the figure of the ‘former presidents’ who contribute to self-government and society, as in his opinion Puig does, unlike Mazón. He also highlighted that Puig “does not receive a salary from the two positions” of ‘former president’ and OECD ambassador and that, in the first case, “he works to contribute to public debate” from an office that, according to him, “functions and has a political sense” and “real work.”
“If there is something Ximo Puig cannot be accused of, it is not working. I believe he is the great workaholic of Valencian politics,” he said. On the other hand, he accused Camps of using his ‘former president’ office for his “internal campaign” with the aim of leading the PPCV.
Asked explicitly about the hiring of Bravo’s nephew, Muñoz said he values it the same as “that of Mª José Catalá’s sister [mayor and PP deputy] in the City Council or Susana Camarero’s brother” [vice president of the Generalitat] as regional secretary of Tourism, as well as that of the councilor of Industry and Tourism, Marian Cano, when she is “the sister of the mayor of La Nucia.”
“Should we tell two deputies here, the Vox spokesperson or a Vox deputy, that one of the two has to resign because they are family or have a stepchild relationship? All these issues will have to be put on the table. Are they ethical? I don’t know,” he added, and asked to reflect on the link between politicians and their relatives in public positions.
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