Pedro Sánchez took a decisive step on Tuesday to ensure control of RTVE by decree with his partners and leaving the PP outside for the next six years, that is, beyond the current legislature. In doing so, Sánchez crosses another line regarding institutions that have always had consensus between the two major parties. Recently it was the Bank of Spain, and now it is RTVE.
On Tuesday, the decree was approved that will allow RTVE to have a board clearly dominated by the PSOE and its parliamentary partners. Two key modifications are introduced: the number of members is increased from 10 to 15, and the disproportion between the Congress and the Senate is multiplied to bypass the absolute majority of the PP in the Upper House.
The Congress will be able to elect by simple majority in a second vote the eleven RTVE board members allocated in the Royal Decree, who will presumably be filled by the Government and its legislative partners. The Senate, where the PP has an absolute majority, will only elect four members. Previously, it was six from the Congress and four from the Senate.
The decree also extends the term of the board members to six years, with no possibility of being removed if there are sufficient majorities, allowing them to remain in office until 2030, thus guaranteeing the majority of the PSOE and its partners until then. Minister Óscar López said on Tuesday that RTVE will thus have ‘the most plural Council in history.’
Sánchez secures total control of Public Television by Royal Decree while talking about democratic regeneration
Spanish public TV
