The acting President of the Canary Islands Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, concluded his final Council of Government before the swearing in of Fernando Clavijo (CC) as President. He defended his economic management, which has resulted in 174,000 unemployed individuals in the Islands and 880,000 people employed. Compared to four years ago, this represents a decrease of 28,600 unemployed individuals and an increase of 68,000 employed individuals. Additionally, there has been an upturn in tourist spending per visitor per day.
During a press conference to announce the agreements, Torres acknowledged that these achievements are unprecedented, particularly considering the challenges posed by a health pandemic, a volcanic eruption on La Palma, a severe decline in tourism, a migratory crisis, and a rise in prices due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Torres admitted that there is room for improvement and emphasized that it will be the responsibility of the new government to strive for progress. He urged them to work diligently, make sacrifices, maintain honesty, and face the challenges head-on. Politically, he expressed his desire for the new government to ensure that, in four years’ time, the number of unemployed individuals decreases by another 30,000 and the number of employed individuals increases by 70,000.
He also stressed the importance of reducing poverty and overcoming dependency issues. While he believes that the current government would handle these matters well, he expressed willingness to collaborate with the incoming administration, referring to the slogan “in good hands,” which was used by the Canary Islands Socialists during the campaign.
Furthermore, Torres expressed hope that the new CC-PP-AHI tripartite government (or quadripartite, if the support of the ASG is considered) would continue to support the energy transition and protect the most vulnerable members of society. He also emphasized the importance of safeguarding the Statute, the REF (Economic and Fiscal Regime), and the unique characteristics of the Islands, which should not be put at risk.
During his speech, Torres became emotional at certain points, highlighting the significant number of Government Councils—228 in total—held throughout the Legislature due to various adversities. He specifically mentioned that five Councils took place in August 2020, even amidst the holiday period.
CANARY ISLANDS HOSPITALS: WAITING LISTS
Rather than succumbing to complacency, Ángel Víctor Torres openly acknowledged that despite the increase in staff and economic resources, they were unable to overcome the challenges of health waiting lists and waiting times. He attributed this shortfall to the lingering effects of the pandemic, even though he considered the end of health restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic as “excellent news” to conclude his term.
Torres expressed his gratitude to Canary Islands society for their collaboration during the most difficult period of restrictions. He also recognized the media for their role in combating misinformation with accurate and rigorous reporting. Additionally, he thanked the councillors and members of the political parties involved in the governing coalition for their loyalty, as his government managed to conclude its term in a manner consistent with its initial objectives—a feat achieved previously only by the coalition between Paulino Rivero (CC) and José Miguel Pérez (PSOE).
Torres highlighted the “strong consensus” achieved during the legislature, particularly in areas such as the special provisions for ERTEs (temporary employment regulation schemes), the Reactiva Plan, and the Housing Plan, all of which exemplified effective policies and ongoing dialogue.
The President also emphasized the significant efforts made to promote free education for children aged zero to three, marking a first in the history of the Canary Islands. He mentioned the recruitment of an additional 3,000 teachers and 7,000 healthcare workers as part of these efforts.
Regarding relations with the central government, Torres highlighted the resumption of the bilateral commission after a twelve-year hiatus. He also mentioned that the 2023 General State Budgets (PGE) demonstrated “greater compliance” with the Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF), and that conflicts regarding roads, audiovisual matters, and the transfer of powers in Coastal areas were successfully resolved.
CLIMATE OF THE CANARY ISLANDS
On climate issues, the Secretary General of the PSOE said that it is “fundamental not to lose sight” of the Canary Islands 2030 agenda and to keep the climate change law in force, which “Canary Islands society feels is its own” and which the CC voted in favour of. Torres understands that “every law can be improved” but sees the PP’s announcement that it is going to be repealed as “absolutely wrong” when it is an “essential and urgent” text because it has “clear goals” that are also obliged by the international community “and ethics and morality”.
The same is true of the tax cuts that the future government is now “beginning to qualify”, given that it is “a fraud” to renege on an agreement with voters, who were promised that the IGIC would be lowered from 7% to 5%. “You are obliged to lower the IGIC,” he said, with the problem that the fiscal rules are coming back and with 1,000 million less income “the welfare state is not sustained”.
CRISIS SITUATIONS
In his farewell, Torres acknowledged as the most difficult moments of his mandate the day he agreed to resume classes in the middle of the pandemic because “it was a critical moment” not knowing what was to come; the day of the eruption in La Palma because it was unknown when it would end and the destruction it would generate or a weekend in February with four maximum alerts, airports and ports closed without being able to mobilise security teams and the following Monday, the hotel in Adeje in quarantine with 1,000 people after detecting a positive for the disease.
On the following Monday, the hotel in Adeje was quarantined with 1,000 people, and when a positive coronavirus was detected, the means could not be moved due to the high haze, and on Monday a positive case was detected in Adeje and we had to close the hotel with 1,000 people inside.
Finally, the president acknowledged that he is “concerned” about the possible authoritarian drift of the country in the event of a rise of the far right.
