PSPV-PSOE Steps Up Pressure on Xàbia Mayor Over Handling of Harassment Case

The socialist organisations in Xàbia and across the Marina Alta have gone on the offensive over the handling of the alleged sexual harassment case within the Xàbia Council. Both the local band the regional branches of the PSPV-PSOE have issued strongly worded statements criticising the Mayor’s response, questioning the lack of timely action and transparency, and warning of what they describe as a broader failure of leadership, responsibility, and institutional commitment to protecting victims.

From the Xàbia branch, the criticism is blunt. They accuse mayor Rosa Cardona of having “looked the other way and hoped the problem would simply go away”, an attitude they say persisted for weeks despite the seriousness of the alleged sexual harassment within the local council.

According to the local socialists, during that time the victim was left without work or salary and suffering clear personal distress, while the mayor chose inaction. They describe a strategy of silence that was only broken when the case became public through the media, despite the mayor later acknowledging that she had been aware of the allegations for weeks.

From the PSPV-PSOE’s perspective, the key question is unavoidable. If the mayor knew, why did she not act sooner? And what has really changed now to justify the belated and “provisional” removal of responsibilities from the VOX councillor? Their answer is unequivocal: what changed was not the facts, but their public exposure. In their view, the mayor did not act out of institutional responsibility or conviction, but only under external pressure, exposing what they describe as an alarming lack of leadership.

The socialists also raises a series of unresolved questions. Why have the municipal groups not been convened to receive information on the steps being taken? If the governing pact is broken, why does VOX continue to retain an advisor? And why has the composition of the AMJASA board not been modified, despite VOX continuing to hold two seats? For the local socialists, either the breakup of the pact is fictitious, or it is yet another political charade.

They insist that the mayor must give public explanations and warn that, if she does not, they will activate the necessary mechanisms to force accountability and demand the corresponding political responsibilities.

The focus on the victim is central to their criticism. The socialists question whether the mayor fulfilled her obligation to protect the victim when she allowed a worker who had reported harassment to remain without employment or institutional backing for weeks, while the councillor in question continued to exercise his functions.

On the issue of the governing pact, the PSPV-PSOE says it remains unclear whether it has truly been broken. If a rupture is ultimately confirmed, they argue it will not have come about through firm action by the Popular Party, but rather through VOX walking away after refusing to accept the “provisional” withdrawal of responsibilities. They stress that, had it been up to Ms Cardona, and as was made clear in the official statement, the tripartite government would have continued, with the victim silenced and a government entrenched in passivity.

These local criticisms have been reinforced at regional level by the PSPV de la Marina Alta, which has also taken a hard line on the case. In a statement signed by its Secretary for Equality, Celia Mas, the regional socialists situates the case within a broader denunciation of machismo, describing it as a structural scourge within society and insisting that allegations of this nature require a forceful and immediate response.

The statement expresses an absolute condemnation of the alleged sexual harassment suffered by a municipal worker in Xàbia and conveys its full support for the victim. From their standpoint, the priority of any public official must be the protection of victims and the guarantee of safe working environments, especially within public institutions.

The regional socialists describe it as “extremely serious” that the mayor acknowledged knowing about the complaint against the VOX councillor while maintaining the normal functioning of the governing pact and the councillor’s political responsibilities for weeks. In their assessment, political measures were only adopted once the case reached public opinion, which they argue reveals an attempt to manage the situation with an eye on preserving government stability rather than protecting the victim.

The statement insists that the fight against gender-based violence cannot depend on media pressure, but must rest on firm principles and protocols activated from the very first moment. On that basis, they go further than the local PSOE and make a direct political demand, calling for the immediate resignation of the mayor of Xàbia. They also demand that the Popular Party assume responsibility for having kept the VOX councillor in office despite the seriousness of the allegations.

Both statements converge on the same conclusion: there can be no tolerance, not even symbolic, of machista violence. Institutions, they argue, must act as the first line of defence, responding with diligence, transparency, and absolute protection for victims.

For the PSOE Xàbia branch, this latest episode is merely the straw that breaks the camel’s back in a term they describe as defined by disorder, lack of leadership, and poor management. Since the summer of 2023, they argue, Xàbia has made headlines almost exclusively for negative reasons, from unexplained resignations and public confrontations within the police force, to controversial land deals, delayed infrastructure decisions, serious tax management errors, and repeated tax rises, all compounded by constant clashes and public ultimatums between the PP, CpJ, and VOX.

Meanwhile, they say, there has not been a single inspiring project for the municipality, nor any tangible improvement to justify what they describe as a legislature marked by paralysis, improvisation, conflict, and a lack of direction.

Their closing assessment is stark. If progress was impossible with eleven councillors, they ask, what can be expected from a minority government lacking leadership?

In their words, Xàbia is not doing well.