The Constitution of 1978 recognised those historical rights, but also opened the door for other areas of the country to establish regional authorities. Up to 1983, the whole country had been included in the regional system; in 1996 the Spanish territories on the coast of Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, were granted limited autonomy.
All the autonomous regions have their own parliaments and governments and an extensive bureaucracy, their own banners, anthems and some of them even their own language, in addition to Spanish (Castellano).
The largest employers
Since 1978, the regional governments have become the largest employers. Of the 46 million Spaniards, 19 million (15%) are in employment, with 2,637,000 of them working in the public sector (13.81%). There are 519,000 employed by National Government (21%); 630,000 in local administration (25.4%) and 1,333,000 working in the regional administrations (53.6%).
Moreover, the figures above refer only to the civil servants directly in the employment of the different layers of administration. In addition, there are a large number employed in public owned companies, agencies, universities and the armed forces.
Since 1983 the number of civil servants in the regions has grown from 107,000 to 1.333.000. This is of course also a result of more public tasks being transferred from the national government to the regions, but the regional governments often swell the administration to build up the power base of their supporters. With changes in government following elections, the employees with a political affiliation different from the new government are often left without occupation or responsibility.
Big spenders
The regional governments are often the biggest spenders. The Catalan President has a higher salary than Spain's Prime Minister. The Valencia Government has spent huge sums on attractions, such as “The America Cup”, a sailing competition, a Formula 1 race on the streets of the regional capital and the theme park Terra Mitica, which has lost 350 million dollars since its opening in 2000. The previous president of Andalusia (now the fourth vice president of the national government) has come under investigation for giving public subsidies to a company led by his daughter…..The government of the Canary Islands had to cut its budget 13% this year.
The Regions are certainly the biggest drain on Spain's public sector, with amassed debts that have drawn the attention of the international rating agencies. The national government has ordered a reduction of 5% in all public salaries in the regions, and quarterly reports from the regions, to make sure they are not exceeding the permitted level of deficit (now 2.4%). Regions not toeing this line will not be permitted to issue debt certificates.
Catalonia had a deficit of 3.6% in 2010. When the debts of the 2,000 public companies and foundations created by the regions over the last decade are put on the table, Spain’s total debts will be impressive.
Proximity to the citizens
One of the reasons regional governments were met with enthusiasm by the population, was the promise that this would bring the governors closer to the population, but has this really happened? Today, in principle, all connection between the governors and the governed should be available on the internet. That being so, it is not important for someone living in Almeria, if the governor is sitting in Madrid or in Seville. If one is living in Alicante, Madrid is closer than the regional offices in Valencia.
For ordinary citizens life has become more complicated, for instance, the income tax declaration, with the split in taxes between central government and the regional ones. Also other taxes must be paid in regional tax offices When registering a car in your name, you must first approach the provincial office for cars (Jefatura de Trafico) then go to the provincial office in the same town to pay the taxes for the registration, and then return to the provincial authorities to finalise the process.
In 2005, 74% of citizens had a positive opinion of the autonomous regions. Last year only 55% shared this opinion. 4 out of 5 Spaniards today would prefer a territorial organisation based on the state.
In some areas, we have to deal with 4 layers of administration, the local, provincial, regional and national. This is the case for instance when it comes to building and maintenance of roads. We have municipal roads, provincial, regional and national.
The regions in the search light
Regional administrations have now come under the search light, due to their monstrous armies of well paid employees and ambitious politicians, the huge debts accumulated and the duplication of administrative routines between the regions and national government.
More and more voices are calling for an end to the regional inflation, but the regional leaders will not give up their power and prerogatives voluntarily. It may come to a political and legal battle between the regions and the state.
In their recent party congress the main opposition party, PP, openly criticised the regional model, whilst the governing PSOE has admitted to the necessity of reorganising regional administration. The question is on the agenda for the local elections at the end of May of this year.
Si (
No(
