The Government announced this Tuesday after the meeting of the Council of Ministers a change in the law of RTVE regarding the election of its Board of Directors, lowering the majorities necessary to appoint those who will direct public televisionensuring the power of the Government and its partners to elect councilors.
The Minister of Digital Transformation of the Public Service, Óscar López, however, assured that this decree “aims to reinforce pluralism, ensure stability and guarantee professionalism in its Board of Directors”, and that This is a reflection of the parliament, in which the PSOE and its partners will ensure the last word in this matter.
RTVE has had a single administrator and three presidents in 4 years and of the 10 members, 6 have expired. The Board of Directors had been in an eternal struggle between its directors for years.Elena Sánchez, Ramón Colom Esmatges, Concepción Cascajosa Virino, at the proposal of the PSOE. Juan José Baños Loinaz, (PNV); Jenaro Castro Muiña, MarÃa Consuelo Aparicio Avendaño, MarÃa del Carmen Sastre Bellas (PP); Roberto Lakidain Zabalza (Unidas Podemos) and José Manuel MartÃn Medem, (Unidas Podemos).
The decree, which still must be negotiated and ratified in Parliament (the Government has excluded Vox from this negotiation), establishes in its most controversial measure a change in the consensus necessary for the election of councilors, who will also increase in number.
He Board of Directors will now have 15 members, 11 elected in Congress (where the PSOE has majorities with its partners) and 4 in the Senate (where the PP has greater strength). The members will be elected by a two-thirds majority and with parity of men and women.
Of course, the Government saves itself an ace: “The vote will include an unblocking formula for the election of the Council. If no agreement is reached in the first vote, an absolute majority will suffice.. I guarantee that the next council will be the most plural in history,” said the minister.
The mandate of the directors will also increase and now it will be six years and they can only be re-elected once.
The Chambers will not only have to elect the councilors, they will also have to agree on a framework mandate agreed upon in parliament that will last 9 yearsfrom which “the program contracts signed by the Government with the RTVE corporation will be derived,” as announced by Óscar López.
The councilors who are elected must now have exclusive dedication and will be subject to the regime of incompatibilities, according to the minister, to guarantee “their professionalism.”
In haste and a pro-PSOE plurality
“The royal decree establishes deadlines,” said the minister, since “the presidencies of the Congress and the Senate will have to begin the process of electing the councilors within 14 calendar days from the entry into force of the decree and it must end within the next 15 days”. Thus, the new Council must be chosen within 30 days since the publication in the BOE of the decree.
“There will never have been a Council of Administration with more political formations,” insisted the minister, ensuring that he ventures to predict that the PP will be within the Council of Administration. However, as more parties entered, their councilors elected by an absolute majority, The PSOE guarantees that there will be more parties in the Council, but that they have voted or will vote in its favor, since they are its partners, and by increasing their number and leaving the Senate as a minor elector, The PP may be inside, but with greatly reduced decision-making power regarding the current composition.
