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<h1 class="entry-title">Rajoy goes on the offensive in Alicante</h1>
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<div class="gmail-td-post-author-name"><div class="gmail-td-author-by">By</div> <a href="http://www.theleader.info/author/theleader/">@leadernewspaper</a><div class="gmail-td-author-line"> - </div> </div> <span class="gmail-td-post-date"><time class="entry-date gmail-updated gmail-td-module-date" datetime="2018-05-07T10:43:10+00:00">07/05/2018</time></span> <div class="gmail-td-post-comments"><a href="http://www.theleader.info/2018/05/07/rajoy-goes-offensive-alicante/#respond"><i class="gmail-td-icon-comments"></i>0</a></div>
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<div class="gmail-td-post-featured-image"><figure><a href="http://www.theleader.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DcbnU4wX4AAHkWt.jpg" class="gmail-td-modal-image"><img class="entry-thumb gmail-td-animation-stack-type0-1" src="http://www.theleader.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DcbnU4wX4AAHkWt-696x431.jpg" alt="" title="DcbnU4wX4AAHkWt" width="696" height="431"></a><figcaption class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Rajoy goes on the offensive in Alicante</figcaption></figure></div>
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</div><p>Despite the problems faced by Spain’s ruling conservatives in
Madrid following the resignation of the regional premier Cristina
Cifuentes over a scandal involving a dubious master’s degree and a
shoplifting incident caught on security camera, Prime Minister Rayoy
gave a muscular performance in Alicante on Saturday.</p>
<p>At a packed meeting of almost 1600 party faithful, which took place
in the Provincial Auditorium of Alicante (ADDA), the Prime Minister
launched an offensive against the linguistic policy of the Consell, as
he opened the the electoral battle in the race toward the municipal and
regional elections next year.<img class="gmail-aligncenter gmail-size-full gmail-wp-image-20463 gmail-td-animation-stack-type0-1" src="http://www.theleader.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DcboTrKX4AEWl1Y.jpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1068"></p>
<p>He said that one major issue was the fundamental reason for
organising the event in Alicante, a city that he hadn’t visited for over
five years, that he wanted to give his backing to the new mayor of the
city, Luis Barcala, and at the same time provide his support to the
electoral axis on which the campaign of the PP in the province will
pivot: the attack on the educational policy of the Consell, as it
continues both to stir up the linguistic conflict and compare the
situation of the Community with that of Catalonia.</p>
<p>The rally, which started with a tribute to the victims of ETA after
the dissolution of the terrorist organisation, completely filled the
ADDA and provided the local party an opportunity to take what will be
the official photo of the PP in Alicante during the elections next year,
where Mariano Rajoy was flanked by the two candidates for the
presidency of the Generalitat and the office of the Alicante Mayor, the
autonomic president of the PP, Isabel Bonig, and the new city mayor,
Luis Barcala.</p>
<p>In his speech, Rajoy announced that his government will raise an
unconstitutionality appeal against the new Plurilingualism Law of the
Generalitat, the mandatory introduction of the Valencian language into
government and education, if there is no agreement with the bilateral
commission, which has already been convened.</p>
<p>The announcement, which opens another front between the Consell and
the Government, was supported by Isabel Bonig, who said in her speech
that those who govern the Community “want to confront and divide our
society” in a clear reference to the politics of the Conseller of
Education, Vicent Marzá, of Compromís.</p>
<p>Rajoy said “This government will consider the unconstitutionality of
the Law if it does not respect the legality and the right of parents to
choose a school and a language for the education of their children. We
want to talk before resorting to the legal process, but nobody should be
deceived.” He said that the Government does not intend to accept
neither impositions nor discriminations,” because Castilian and
Valencian are co-official languages.</p>
<p>“The last thing that the Valencian Community needs is to follow the
example of division, confrontation and the creation of problems that
cause so many difficulties for the Catalans,” he added. “Because that is
what the governments of change do, govern a little and divide a lot
and, they also create many more problems for the people.”</p>
<p>He added that the new leader and councillors have been “exemplary” in
their management and “demonstrate in Alicante that efficiency is a
reason to vote for our party. We trust in you and we are going to win
control of this city with a majority,” he said, ratifying Barcala’s
candidacy.</p>
<p>Without mentioning any of the ongoing corruption cases that plague
the PP in the Community and elsewhere, Rajoy did talk about the projects
already announced during his visit to El Altet airport, the linking of
Alicante with Murcia and Andalusia and the AVE to Castellón. He said
that these works in the Mediterranean Corridor are currently “the most
important projects in Spain.”</p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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