Last Friday the Council of Ministers approved a local government reform that runs the risk of becoming a sure failure if the measures that it proposes don't have solid footing. The bill needs to look back to previous economic failures to accurately judge whether the govenrment can actually expect to reach savings of 7.129 million.
The bill will cut 82% of city councillor salaries, although the majority of them are not getting paid now and the Ministry of Finance says that it does not have figures in this regard. The Ministry, led by Cristóbal Montoro, also doesn't know the number of assessors that exist throughout local administrations even though it limits the total number to 6,489. Not to mention, thousands of municipal companies will have to be cut. It is highly doubtful that the reform will succeed if the government cannot produce some numbers and predict the effects. Are we being asked to listen to more empty rhetoric?
