Feijóo loses the battle with the Valencian PP and accepts Pérez Llorca as Mazón's replacement

BarcelonaEight days after Carlos Mazón's resignation as head of the Valencian government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo made a decision regarding his replacement, yielding to the demands of the Valencian branch of the People's Party (PP). Thus, as confirmed by sources within the national PP, Mazón's second-in-command, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, will be designated as the candidate, instead of the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá—Feijóo's preferred choice. According to the national leadership, Feijóo held "a final telephone conversation this morning with Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca" in which he informed him "of his designation as the PP candidate for president of the Generalitat Valenciana in the upcoming investiture session, which will be convened in the coming days to bring stability to the Valencian Community as soon as possible." Furthermore, the Secretary General of the People's Party, Miguel Tellado, "called the provincial presidents to inform them of the decision made by the party's national leadership," which received "unanimous support from all three provinces." This is not surprising, as it is precisely what they had requested from the party's headquarters on Génova Street in Madrid. In fact, Tellado had already stated this morning at a press breakfast that the decision would be "swift" after having spoken with "colleagues from Valencia."

And that's becauseMazón's succession had opened a war within his ranksThe Valencian PP leadership promoted Pérez Llorca—also the parliamentary spokesperson and mayor of Finestrat, a close confidant of Mazón and with good relations with Vox—as an interim replacement, and for the 2027 elections, the president of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó. The move aimed to prevent the national leadership from imposing Catalá's name, which was met with strong disapproval from the party headquarters in Madrid. In any case, the decision has not ended the deep internal battle because it remains to be seen whether Mompó will put himself forward as a candidate for president in two years, whether Pérez Llorca will want to continue, in addition to the struggle with Catalá and the emergence of former president Francisco Camps, who wants to lead the party in the region and is demanding a seat. The appointment of the interim replacement postpones the crisis, but with a multitude of potential candidates in 2027, it could be reignited at any moment.

The internal clash within the PP stems from Feijóo's failure to reach an agreement with Mazón over All Saints' Day weekend to decide on his replacement, and even, faced with the clash between factions within the Valencian Popular Party, Pérez Llorca staged that The Valencian branch of the party distanced itself from the candidate's decisionentrusting Feijóo with the selection.

So far, the only one who has reacted to the move is Mazón himself, who has stated that he is an "extraordinary candidate," in a brief statement to the media leaving the Palau de la Generalitat. Meanwhile, Pérez Llorca expressed his gratitude for the appointment: "I appreciate the confidence of the president of my party [...]. I accept the challenge of achieving a majority with a focus on the recovery and reconstruction of the Valencian Community," he told X. He also added that "a period of dialogue is beginning" that involves Valencians."

For his part, Vox Secretary General Ignacio Garriga greeted the appointment with astonishment: "We'll see in the coming days what negotiations we'll open with the PP, but first you'll have to tell us, because it was you who revealed the news of the lucky one to us," he stated at a press conference in response to a journalist's question. "Vox will not lower any of its standards," said Garriga, who added that they will have demands regarding immigration, the European Green Deal, and taxation. "It will be in the coming days that we can say whether the PP truly remains willing to negotiate and change things or not. This is currently an unknown," he declared.

Garriga reiterated the "willingness to continue changing the course" of the Valencian Community, but without abandoning any of its policy principles. Sources within Vox have assured ARA that the chaos within the Valencian PP had caused "problems" in initiating talks, which will now resume with Pérez Llorca, a familiar face to Vox: he has been the far-right's interlocutor since they agreed on the investiture. Diana Morant, a Valencian political analyst, emphasized that "Mazón has chosen his accomplice, Pérez Llorca, to continue his legacy" and that "it's clear Feijóo has no influence in the PP." Meanwhile, the Valencian nationalists of Compromís reacted with dismay to the news and brought up statements made in June by the PP's presidential candidate in which he "categorically" stated that he would not accept being the interim replacement appointed by the party leadership in Madrid: "These decisions must be made by the Valencian members, and what's decided in Madrid isn't enough." (Point recovered by Joan Baldoví

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Mazón appears in Les Corts

Meanwhile, Mazón is scheduled to appear before the parliamentary commission investigating the DANA storm on Tuesday afternoon, following the emergence of new details about his lunch at El Ventorro with journalist Maribel Vilaplana. According to Vilaplana's testimony before the judge, Mazón began receiving a flood of calls starting at 5:15 p.m. on the day of the DANA storm. Emergency services were already concerned about the Poio ravine, which would eventually overflow, from early afternoon onward. Also during the afternoon, former Interior Minister Salomé Pradas discussed with Mazón the possible issuance of the mass alert on their mobile phones while he continued with his lunch.

Mazón had denied being aware of anything: "No. I'm not informed, nor am I a formality to be completed. It would seem like a technical obstruction in the process if it were the president of the Generalitat who had to send alerts. Why should I be consulted if it's not in the protocol, nor am I in the Cecopio flood plan?" the president said in an interview.The Spanish.