Camps' return, another headache for Mazón

ValenciaThe former president of Valencia, Francisco Camps, has been returning to politics for months. He has expressed this many times, and seems to have seen the weakness of the current head of the Consell, Carlos Mazón – questioned for the management of the DANA on October 29 – as the perfect opportunity. He intends to force a return to the front line, which, until now, the Popular Party has resisted, arguing that it is necessary to wait for the final resolution of its legal situation, which, of course, was closed last July. "I have a project," he insisted again today from the microphones of Catalunya Ràdio.

Mazón's delicate situation offers an ideal scenario for Camps, who has expressed on several occasions that he would have liked to be the conservative candidate for mayor of Valencia in the 2023 elections. That desire was cut short when the Popular Party appointed the current mayor, María José Catal, as a candidate. That is why there is now speculation that Catalá could replace Mazón, Camps is quick to raise his hand and ask for a renewal of the party in which he would have an important role, perhaps as a future candidate for mayor of the capital.

To reclaim his place, the former Valencian president is using three avenues. The first is to conduct interviews such as the one he gave on Catalunya Ràdio this Friday. Asked if he aspires to be a candidate for the presidency of the Generalitat, he replied that he is not thinking about this at the moment and insisted that, for now, they are trying to recover "the importance of militancy." However, at no point did he close the door to eventually taking the step. Would he be excited about it?, he was asked. "If the responsibility corresponds, of course," he said. However, and for whatever may happen, he has refused to criticize Mazón and has defended that it was the Spanish government that failed in the management of the DANA.

The second pressure formula of the Valencian politician is the promotion of the book Paco Camps, refocusing Spain written by historian Javier Mas. The work presents what has been defined as the intellectual and leadership proposal of the former head of the Consell "to open a new political and social era." A new era that, as he has explained in recent months, would be based on rebuilding the PP so that it attracts voters who have gone to Vox and, thus, recover the absolute majorities previously in 2011. The presentations of the book have had numerous attendees, both grassroots militants and former senior PP officials. Figures such as the former president of the Castellón Provincial Council Carlos Fabra and the former mayor of Alicante Sonia Castedo stand out, two leaders who, like Camps, had to leave politics due to their indictment in corruption cases. Camps' tour will continue this Saturday in Burriana, and four days later at the Diario Información Club in Alicante. The last act is very symbolic, because it will take place in Mazón's stronghold and because it is hosted by the main newspaper of the province of Alicante, owned by the Moll Group.

The third leg of the strategy has been the promotion of a manifesto by militants close to Camps and grouped in the recently named and very belligerent against Mazón Pedro Agramunt Forum - in honour of the Moll Group. to the Valencian politician - who died last November -, in which they ask that the ordinary congress of the Valencian PP scheduled for July not be postponed due to the DANA and, in addition, allow the membership to "directly" elect its presidency, direction and teams. "We have a network of active militants of more than 1,000 people," said Camps to make clear the muscle with which the conclave still has. Camps' reappearance on the scene has thus become a new headache for Mazón, who every day that passes sees how he is questioned more and even has adversaries appearing within his party.