The Les Corts groups (PP, PSPV, Compromís and Vox) have defended the unanimous agreement reached this Tuesday to establish an unemployment benefit for former regional deputies, since they consider that it benefits political activity, equates the Valencian parliament with the rest of cameras and does not imply any “privilege”. This is the collection of a type of special unemployment benefit, a way of compensating those deputies who leave office (even if they have resigned) and are neither civil servants, retirees nor employees.

This is how the four ombudsmen have assessed, in response to questions from journalists before the plenary session this Wednesday, the agreement reached in the Interior Government commission to establish unemployment benefits for deputies who leave their seat after holding it for a minimum of 18 months. They will not be retroactive, they will be paid for a maximum of two years and will not be compatible with positions in the administration or in private companies. They will come into force when the agreement is published in the Les Corts Bulletin.

From the PP, Juanfran Pérez Llorca has thanked all the formations for their “courage” for reaching an agreement that, as he stressed, occurs “in all the assemblies of all the autonomies of Spain” and that “only the Valencian Community”. Furthermore, he has defended that this agreement is “good for parliamentarism and political activity.”

Along these lines, he has argued that they have tried to establish compensation for unemployment “as similar as possible” to employed workers, given that, “unfortunately,” as the law prevents it, they cannot be “exactly the same.” And he has denied that this situation grants “a privilege” to the deputies.

Regarding the “technical issues” of the agreement, Pérez Llorca has pointed out that they will be detailed when it is published once it passes through the Les Corts Table. And regarding the amount that will be deducted from the remainder of parliament, he has specified that the appropriation will be “progressive” as the legislature progresses. “At this time, none of the deputies could collect this unemployment benefit because none of them reach 18 months,” he stated. In fact, he has stated that, if parliament is dissolved today and elections are called, “no deputy could collect it” as this period of time has not elapsed.

Among the opposition groups, the PSPV ombudsman, José Muñoz, has insisted that politicians have “the same right as any worker” to collect unemployment. “Here we are not going to have more or less rights,” he stressed, guaranteeing that the benefit will not mean “not one euro more for the Valencians or for Les Corts” because “it comes from the treasury remnants.”

Although he has recognized that it is “an unpopular opinion,” he has defended the need for people with few resources to be able to access politics so as not to “lose the representativeness of a large part of the population.” Regarding whether they will contribute to Social Security, Muñoz has explained that they have no “possibility” of doing so, but has guaranteed that for the PSPV it is “the will in the medium and long term” and for this they will “study” it through Congress.

On the other hand, he has ruled out evaluating the criticism of the former Consell delegate in Alicante Antonia Moreno, who has called it “shameless” that PSPV has agreed with PP and Vox for this benefit. “I am not going to make any further evaluations. I would like the political trajectory of each one to be seen,” he concluded.

As Ombudsman of Compromís, Joan Baldoví has ​​agreed on the need to regulate the “anomaly” that the former deputies of Les Corts did not receive this benefit, since it is something “regulated in almost all the regional parliaments and in the Cortes Generales.” “It is an absolutely normal thing,” he stressed. Baldoví has ​​assured that this benefit will go ahead “without costing Les Corts an extra euro” because “there has been a reduction in items to make it possible without increasing the budget.” Regarding whether the former deputies will contribute to Social Security, he explained that his group proposed in the Interior Government commission that they could do it “in one way or another”, but “the lawyers said it was not possible.”

For his part, the Vox ombudsman, José María Llanos, has defended the agreement on unemployment benefits for “equality, justice and equality” with the rest of the workers who are unemployed, in addition to emphasizing that “it is not a settlement nor compensation.” Llanos has emphasized that the document is “very restrictive”, progressive after 18 months worked, without retroactive effect and without taking into account accessories such as mileage.

“If only those who have already covered their economic needs after leaving office can dedicate themselves to politics, we will be saying as in ancient Rome: cursus honorum. And that, of course, does not seem to us that in these times and in democracy it can be defended,” argued this ombudsman, who has specified that he will not collect the benefit “in any way” if he stops because he is a civil servant.