Does Feijóo question Llorca's leadership in the Valencian Country?

ValenciaWill it be in September when the PP designates Juanfran Pérez Llorca as the conservatives' candidate for next year's regional elections, or is Alberto Núñez Feijóo fighting for an alternative to the current president of the Generalitat? This is the debate that has been taking place in the Valencian Country for months and which has only weakened the leadership of a head of the Consell who carries the burden of not having been chosen by the affiliates, of not having won an election, and of having to listen almost every week to the criticisms of former president Francisco Camps who claims to be the electoral poster.

Only in recent weeks has the state leadership had four occasions – two visits to the Valencian Country by Alberto Núñez Feijóo and two more by his number two, Miguel Tellado – to end the interim status of their baron and has not. He has preferred to maintain uncertainty despite being fully aware of the noise that has been generated around Llorca. A discussion that has included statements to the press by high-ranking party officials who, under anonymity, have defended that the current head of the Council is not the ideal candidate. Feijóo's indifference to the controversy has sown doubt as to whether the Galician politician is really thinking of someone else or what he intends to show is that he is the one in charge and sets the pace for a federation like the Valencian one, which has been his main headache for the last two years. First, for his management of the storm and its judicial consequences and, then, for questioning his leadership when he tried to have Carlos Mazón's successor decided in Valencia and not in Madrid. The PP leader's indecision has perhaps also been fueled by some controversies involving the Valencian president, such asthe transfer of his partner to the Diputació of Valencia or the carrying out of an electoral campaign with the current president as the protagonist when he has not yet been designated as a candidate by Genoa.

Vicent Mompó's name

Although without enthusiasm, everything suggests that Llorca will be Feijóo's choice. Even more so after last Saturday the mayoress of Valencia, María José Catalá, was confirmed as the municipal candidate. The mayoress is the preferred Valencian politician by the PP leader, but she wishes to continue in the council. With Catalá eliminated from the running, the main alternative to the head of the Consell is the president of the Diputació de València, Vicent Mompó, who for months has not stopped showing organic muscle. For example, with the meeting held in June in Sueca which, according to conservatives, was attended by 1,300 militants. The provincial leader lets himself be courted and when asked about his ambitions, he never closes any doors. "There is no football player who doesn't want to be a starter," he stated a few weeks ago.

Curiously, what precisely made him famous could work against Mompó, that is, his attendance at the Cecopi during the tragic afternoon of October 29, 2024, despite not having any direct competence. The presence of the president of the Diputació in the emergency committee for the storm has made him a key witness, a circumstance that has forced him to testify on several occasions. These appearances have become increasingly controversial to the point that the investigating judge has questioned their veracity. "There is abundant information to disprove everything that Mr. Mompó has said," stated the magistrate. Therefore, it would not be strange if Feijóo avoided appointing a candidate who could be affected by a perjury process. In fact, Compromís has already announced that it will file a lawsuit against Mompó for lying.

Everything, however, does not work against Mompó, given that Feijóo could also doubt Llorca due to his close relationship with Vox. An affinity that has been ratified this week after the Valencian Country was the first territory to include national priority in the budgets and it has become public that the PP and Vox have agreed to exclude foreigners in irregular situations from social aid except in cases of "vital emergency". The ball is, therefore, in the court of a Galician politician who seems determined to make the decision himself and avoid a congress of a too divided Valencian PP.