Sémper will defend this Thursday in Congress the entire PP amendment to the use of co-official languages

'Génova' closes ranks with its spokesperson after the "outrage" of some deputies over their passages in Basque during the debate

MADRID, 20 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The PP spokesperson and vice-secretary of Culture and Open Society of the party, Borja Sémper, will go up again this Thursday to the speakers' gallery of Congress to defend the entire amendment with alternative text that the Popular Group will register to the reform proposal of the Congress Regulations that allow the use of co-official languages, as 'popular' sources have told Europa Press.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo's team has closed ranks with Sémper after criticism from some deputies, who have privately admitted that they do not understand that he used Basque on three occasions in plenary when minutes before the Popular Group's own spokesperson, Cuca Gamarra, He had also criticized the use of co-official languages ​​without the reform of the Regulation being approved.

"It is an unnecessary error," summarized a party official, who believes that the PP scored an own goal on Tuesday. "It has caused outrage among both the hardliners and the moderates of the party," added another.

Given the commotion created, Sémper himself has justified himself for using Basque by ensuring that it was a "good idea" to demonstrate that co-official languages ​​are not the heritage of nationalists. After assuming that there may be party colleagues who did not like the gesture, he stressed that the PP "is not a sect" and there is a diversity of opinions.

From 'Génova' they want to end the debate and the general coordinator of the party, Elías Bendodo, has defended that Sémper, "with good judgment, what he proposed is that in Congress it is now possible" to speak in the co-official languages, later translating into Spanish. . "The wealth of my party is that everyone can think and give their opinion what they consider appropriate," he stated in Valencia when asked about the criticism, to emphasize that the PP is not a "monolithic" party.

Sources from Feijóo's team consulted by Europa Press have attributed the criticism to "moments of internal nervousness" and have pointed out that Sémper has been "scrupulous" with the Regulations because he made the translation instantly. Furthermore, they have stressed that no one can give lessons to the former spokesperson in the Basque Parliament about the defense of the "unity of Spain, Spanish and the acronym of the PP."

In the same way, they have pointed out that no lessons can be given to Feijóo in this matter after his management at the head of the Xunta and having "cornered" nationalism in its attempt to appropriate the flag, traditions and Galician culture. .

Sémper announced to the party leadership and at the previous meeting of the Popular Group's steering committee that he would introduce some phrases in Basque in his speech. "I tried to show that co-official languages ​​are the heritage of everyone, not just nationalists," he explained this Wednesday on Onda Cero.

And it will be Sémper who will take the speaker's rostrum again this Thursday to defend the entire amendment with alternative text that the PP will register to the proposal to reform the Congressional Regulations for the use of languages ​​other than Spanish "with the objective of not modifying the Regulations of Congress". According to the 'popular', "any reform of the same must be carried out by consensus within the framework of the Regulation Commission."

Vox has also registered a full amendment with alternative text in which it defends that the Congress Regulations be changed, but not to allow the use of co-official languages, but to force their honorable Members to use Spanish in all their parliamentary activities. In addition, they have demanded to know how much it will cost to apply the new rules that contemplate the use of Catalan, Galician and Basque.

This amendment will be discussed this Thursday in Plenary, within the framework of the debate in a single reading of the regulatory reform promoted by the PSOE, Sumar, the independentists of ERC and Bildu and the nationalists of the PNV and the BNG.