Feijóo's "indisciplined" number 2 who would apply a 155 to the Catalan school

MadridAlberto Núñez Feijóo is doubling down on his commitment to project an image of a forceful PP against Pedro Sánchez – also in response to the rise of Vox – and has chosen to place one of the party's harshest and most incendiary voices in the number two spot on the list for Madrid. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (Madrid, 1974) ascends to this position ahead of November 29th, in an election that she herself defines as "existential, historic, and decisive" for the future of Spain. The PP leader confirmed his choice this Thursday after days of hints that already suggested he would bet on a profile that has been characterized as an internal loose cannon. Álvarez de Toledo deploys her own sharp, ideological discourse which, in previous stages, she has not hesitated to direct even against her own party's leadership, as happened with Pablo Casado, with whom she ended up in conflict.

Feijóo brought her back in 2023, when she ran as number six for Madrid, and returned her to the political front line during the legislative term by betting on her as deputy spokesperson in the lower house. A significant gesture because, with Casado, she had ended up sidelined after a brief stint as the lead spokesperson. In that period, which only lasted until the summer of 2020, Álvarez de Toledo was involved in numerous controversies for having let slip outbursts that ended up taking her to court – where she was acquitted – for having specifically called the father of the former leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, a "terrorist." However, if she is known for anything in Catalonia, it is for her ferocity against the independence movement, which she exhibited as the head of the PP list for Barcelona in the 2019 general elections.

Álvarez de Toledo, without any roots in Catalonia, then accepted the challenge as a return to the PP "through the front door". She herself had decided not to run on the lists for Congress in 2015 due to disagreements with Mariano Rajoy's management. "I had everything for a person of my ideals and my arrogance," she explained herself in her book Políticamente indeseable (Ediciones B, 2021), where she settled pending scores and in which she defines herself as a person who is "a bit undisciplined". In relation to Catalonia, Álvarez de Toledo defended positions even more extreme than her party, even breaking voting discipline in Congress when she voted in favor of a linguistic 155 proposed by Vox. Linked to José María Aznar's FAES, Álvarez de Toledo has the former Spanish president, from the hardest wing of the PP, as her political mentor.

One of the causes with which she is most personally involved is that of the Venezuelan opposition –she is a friend of María Corina Machado– and in recent years she has acted as the parliamentary nemesis of the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, with high-profile clashes at the Wednesday control sessions in Congress. "Bolaños will think that I have to thank him," joked Álvarez de Toledo in an interview on Federico Jiménez Losantos' program on EsRadio. On the same radio show, the number two on the PP list admitted that she has differences with Feijóo –"we are not identical"–, but she defended that she is convinced that "he is the president that Spain needs" and described him as "a solvent, brave, good, and decent man".

A diverse list

In an attempt to strike a balance between the two souls of the party, Feijóo has decided to place Borja Sémper (Irún, 1976) as number three for Madrid, a PP spokesperson considered one of the most moderate profiles among the 'populares' and who has had public disagreements with Álvarez de Toledo. From Génova, they claim that both represent "different ways of understanding Spain." "We are very proud that the people accompanying the president represent different profiles of diverse citizens," argued popular party sources after confirming the two names. "Differences within the PP are not fought, they are respected. And Feijóo is a candidate with whom Spaniards of different leanings and conditions can converge," the same sources added.

Sémper also downplayed the distance between him and the number two. "Let's normalize that parties are not sects," he said while speaking to the media. In a video that emulates the presentation of football players, and shared on social media, Feijóo appears with his two wingmen joining hands as if they were going to play a match. "The best team in Madrid," can be read superimposed on the video, which is accompanied by a message that says "Aura," in a clear attempt to appeal to the younger population through language.

Among the headlines that the PP lists have left in recent days is that of the mayor of Badalona, Xavier García Albiol, as number one for Barcelona and the Galician Ana Belén Vázquez as candidate for Ourense. A national police officer by profession, she is the deputy who was expelled a few weeks ago from Congress when she showed a canister of pepper spray to denounce the alleged insecurity in Ceuta.