Juanma Moreno admits he would have preferred to govern Andalucía alone following controversial agreement with Vox

Following his investiture in the Andalusian parliament on Thursday, regional president Juanma Moreno discussed the intricacies of the negotiations with Vox and the direction of the new legislature in an interview with the Cope radio network.

Moreno did not hide the fact that this coalition, after falling just two seats short of an absolute majority, was not his first choice. He frankly admitted that he would have preferred "to have a single-party regional government" and be able "to govern alone".

Faced with criticism for the pact with Vox, Moreno explained that a repeat election would have been devastating for Andalucía's interests. The regional president revealed that he considered the option of repeating the elections to protect his principles and avoid political fallout, but institutional responsibility prevailed.

He admitted that he had considered what would have been the easy, "stoic, heroic, politically expedient" way to avoid the biting criticism and acknowledged that he had thought about "holding on and waiting for another election".

In the end, however, Moreno decided that this decision would have paralysed the Andalusian regional government until the end of the year. Faced with the dilemma of holding another election or finding a reasonable solution, he opted for a legislative agreement. In his own words, the general interest of the Andalusian people "was above" his own personal interest.

Vox will assume a single, highly influential role with spokesperson Manuel Gavira as deputy regional president.

Drawing on his previous experience with the Ciudadanos party, Moreno defended integrating the new partner into daily management because "it's better for them to be involved in the regional government, to understand how it works" and, ultimately, "to build rapport and be on the inside, rather than on the outside".

Moreno also sought to defuse tensions surrounding the most contentious points of the agreement, such as the residency criteria for accessing public housing assistance. Moreno dismissed as "lies" the opposition's accusations that immigrants would be denied healthcare or that "children would be taken out of school".

He clarified that the measure consists of a residency criteria "that already existed within the regional government" and insisted that public services would maintain their non-negotiable boundaries.

Moreno defended Vox's legitimacy, arguing that it stemmed "from the free vote at the ballot box" and affirmed that the party would maintain its political vision based on concord and the search for common ground.

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