The disastrous handling of Mazón's resignation by the PP

Crisis management experts always recommend acting quickly and decisively to prevent a crisis from dragging on longer than expected or creating new ones. This is precisely what happened in the Valencian Community with the resignation of Carlos Mazón as president of the Generalitat after being publicly humiliated by the victims' families at the state funeral held for the first anniversary of the devastating floods. Mazón announced his resignation, but surprisingly, and after a whole weekend of consultations between him and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, no one announced who would replace him. A week later, Valencians still don't know who the candidate for investiture will be and, therefore, who will be their highest public representative. Mazón's resignation, which was intended to end one crisis, has opened another in the form of an internal power struggle within the Valencian PP, as well as between the Valencian PP and the national party headquarters in Madrid, over who should succeed him. The disarray within the Valencian PP is so profound that its general secretary and candidate to replace Mazón, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, has asked Feijóo to appoint the candidate himself to avoid a complete mess. In Valencia, they believe the only way to prevent a fratricidal war between the different factions is for Madrid to decide. But, as it happens, Feijóo once again refuses to make a decision. And Vox is exploiting his indecision to highlight that the problem for Valencian governance is not them, but the PP.

The far right is determined to wear down the PP as much as possible, and for that reason, it has taken the decision that can do the most damage to Feijóo: demanding that a candidate be named before negotiations can begin. The result, given the division within the Valencian PP and Feijóo's inaction, is that the Valencian Community is experiencing an unprecedented political paralysis in the midst of rebuilding from the damage caused by the DANA storm. This situation is beginning to worry the rest of the region. males Popular figures, such as María Guardiola from Extremadura and Juanma Moreno Bonilla from Andalusia, are watching in dismay as the PP's image as a serious and effective party is collapsing in Valencia, and they fear that, in the best-case scenario, the current crisis will end with further concessions to the far right. However, the one who emerges most exposed from this whole crisis is Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Not only did he keep Mazón in his position for a year while evidence and witnesses accumulated regarding his negligent handling of the DANA storm, but when he finally resigned, it turned out he didn't have a plan ready to replace him. What kind of leader is this who can't make decisions even when a point of no return has been reached? What kind of leader is this who one day says the far right is no solution and the next begs for Vox's support to resolve the Valencia crisis?

In the face of this deplorable situation, the only dignified solution is to give the Valencian people a voice and call early elections. Any other solution will be nothing more than a desperate attempt by those who bear as much or even more responsibility than Mazón for what happened on October 29, 2024.