Feijóo asks for a free hand to reach agreements with both Vox and a non-Sanchista PSOE.

MadridAlberto Núñez Feijóo wants to have the maximum possible room for maneuver to reach the Palau de la Moncloa. This means not closing the door to any option for a pact, with the exception of EH Bildu, to whom he does apply a cordon sanitaire. However, he is the only one he is willing to maintain, as he proclaimed during the closing of the PP congress, from which he leaves with a free hand to seek alliances despite the fact that Pressure from the hardline wing of the Popular Party to try to veto the independence movementFeijóo wanted to be "clear" and stated that he does not rule out a pact with Vox, but that he does not rule out doing so with a non-Sanchista PSOE. "It is impossible to reach an agreement with the Sanchistas, but that does not mean giving up on the Socialists forever," he stressed. As for the far right, the Popular Party leader rejected "cornering the third political force in the country," but warned that he wants "a solo government."

"We say to Vox, either Sánchez or Feijóo," emphasize sources from Génova, who demand "freedom" of movement that the president of the PP has defended in his speechesIn this Sunday's address, Feijóo emphasized that he will not do what Vox asks of him or what the left demands of him. "The presidency of the Government demands greatness, and I will have it," he emphasized, regarding his aspiration to reach agreements with all state parties, with whom he seeks parliamentary alliances, and to represent the "centrality" of the State. The PP, which has already tried Vox's entry into regional governments, asserted that it does not want to repeat this failed formula in the Spanish government. "The only coalition government that there has been so far [that of the PSOE with Unidas Podemos or Sumar] has not worked. I do not want to put on the same spectacles," he explained.

As for the pro-independence parties, Feijóo did not want to rule them out either, although he did criticize the alliances established by Pedro Sánchez. The PP president reassured his supporters that, as much as he is willing to talk with them, he will set limits and it will not be a situation comparable to the current one. "What will the relationship with the nationalists be? Clarity and vigilance. I'm not in the business of deceiving anyone, not even them. Outside of the law and the Constitution, nothing at all," he stated. The PP leadership asserts that with Feijóo, the "marketing" will end and that minorities "will not set the course of the nation" no matter how much they are "listened to." "I will not give the independence movement what I do not want or cannot give. I will not submit [...] nor will I consent to any more challenges in our country," he assured.

Ayuso warns that "the blow will return to Catalonia"

This open door to reaching an understanding with the entire parliamentary spectrum, despite the delimitations made by Feijóo, contrasted with the harshness of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's speech, which preceded him at the closing of the conclave. "The blow will return to Catalonia and this time no one will be able to stop them," proclaimed the Madrid president who, despite having repeatedly expressed her opposition to approaching Junts, closed ranks with the PP leader. "This is your moment, you have the entire PP behind you," she assured. As she had already done Former President José María Aznar on the first day, Ayuso has been in charge of heating up the atmosphere with the most relentless attacks against the independence movement and Sánchez.

The Madrid president has compared the current situation in Spain to that of an undemocratic regime, which she has dubbed "Sanchismo-communism led by cynicism." "Mr. Sánchez, you are a privilege, you are communism, and if you could, you would put on the Caribbean tracksuit, and you know it," she asserted. Ayuso criticized the PSOE leader's admission that the Socialists are corrupt and that they have "the largest but useless government in history," but that he will resist because that's "not how the right governs." Given this situation, the leader of the Madrid PP called for the demolition of Sánchez's "wall," which she compared to the Berlin Wall, and offered herself to Feijóo to tear it down with "pick and shovel" now that it is "cracked."

"Today it all begins"

The People's Party (PP) closed the congress satisfied with having instilled optimism and enthusiasm among its members. "Today nothing ends, everything begins. It is the founding act of a new era," Feijóo stated. However, at the same time, he called for "prudence" to prevent the same thing from happening again as in 2023. "We don't trust the smiles of the polls," he urged. If he finally manages to reach the Moncloa Palace in the second, and presumably final, attempt, Feijóo pledged to promote ten measures, including "democratic regeneration to restore the rule of law," tax cuts, and measures to "reduce illegal immigration." This very point generated the most enthusiasm among the delegates, who rose to applaud when the PP leader defended that "Spain must be an open country, but not a naive one": "Not everything goes here. Coexistence is built on order and control," he said.

On this matter, Feijóo has toughened his discourse. An attempt to attract voters who could go to Vox and also a concession to the hardline wing of the party, from whom he has asked for this free hand in the policy of pacts, but to which he has made nods both to the political report and to the profile of some of his appointments - such as the election of Miguel Tellado as number two, of Esther Muñoz as spokesperson in Congress, or the promotion of Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo to the party's executive committee. Furthermore, Feijóo has included in the Decalogue one of the Madrid president's most pressing issues, namely her opposition to the widespread use of co-official languages, and has promised a "language law" to "guarantee that all children in Spain can be educated in Spanish." Ayuso has warned the PP leader that "reversing" the entire "Sanchista legacy" will take a lot of work, but she is confident that this "Madrid native of Galicia will return Spain to the Spaniards, as happened during the Transition."