The European People's Party congress ends with the brief presence of Mazón and the appearance of Aznar.

ValenciaA fleeting presence without any speeches and avoiding the family photo that could upset his party colleagues. This is the outcome of the elusive attendance of the head of the Council, Carlos Mazón, at the European People's Party (PP) congress, which closed this afternoon in Valencia, just six months after the DANA tragedy, with the final speech of the PP leader in Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the presence of the former Spanish president.

After being absent on the first day of the conclave, arguing that he had to be managing the consequences of the power outage, and unexpectedly participating last night in a reception for the main European conservative officials organized by Valencia City Council, Mazón made a lightning visit this Wednesday. He did so, however, after hiding it in his official agenda, a strategy he has been implementing for months to avoid protests and limit his media exposure.

Mazón's presence lasted less than two hours and did not include any interventions. This circumstance is striking given that the Valencian Community is hosting the congress. The head of the Council justified his brevity with his trip to the United States this afternoon to lead a mission to investigate the impact of tariff increases on strategic sectors in the Valencian Community. With his departure, the European People's Party (PP) has prevented the Valencian president from appearing in the Conservatives' family photo taken during the closing session of the congress.

Feijóo, who couldn't avoid the photo with Mazón, appeared together in the plenary session of the European Congress alongside other PP regional presidents, who also missed the meeting yesterday due to the energy crisis. In addition to this snapshot, there are those published Tuesday night in X by the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, alongside the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola; the future German chancellor, Friedrich Merz; and the re-elected president of the EPP, Manfred Weber.

"We received the highest European authorities within the framework of the European PP congress in Valencia," wrote Catalá in her message, published late in the evening and in which she did not directly mention either Mazón – photographed with a big smile – or Feijóo, who in the three images in which he appears remains within a second.

In addition to the Galician politician's woes, we must also add those of other PP leaders, such as the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno Bonilla. He was asked this Wednesday in Valencia if he "supports" the work of the head of the Consell, but he avoided answering and ended a media appearance in which he had answered questions about the power outage.

Aznar's appearance and the choice of Montserrat

The election of Dolors Montserrat as Secretary General was another highlight of the day. Unlike Feijóo yesterday, the leader of the European People's Party (PP) did have a reminder for the six-month anniversary of the DANA disaster. "From this wounded but brave region, I want to begin by paying tribute to the victims, their families, and those who risked their lives to save others," said the Catalan politician, who has not forgotten her usual criticism of the independence movement. "Catalonia showed me that nationalism can poison a wonderful land. Spain showed me that unity is the refuge and the solution to all problems. Europe has taught me the value of peace and solidarity," she added.

Former Spanish President José María Aznar also made an appearance in Valencia this Wednesday, defending the free market between Europe and the United States, despite the tariff policy advocated by US President Donald Trump. In this regard, Aznar aligned himself with billionaire Elon Musk, who, despite being part of Trump's core group, opposed the tariff policy. The former Spanish president advocated deepening the transatlantic relationship "regardless of who holds power." He justified this special relationship with the United States and Latin America not only in the economic sphere, but also in terms of "the moral superiority of our democracies."

Support for former Venezuelan candidate Edmundo González was another highlight of the European People's Party (PP) congress. The Latin American politician denounced the "rise of autocracies" and cited his country as an example. Aznar echoed this sentiment, calling for determination to prevent democratic backsliding wherever it may occur.

Feijóo promises "€12 billion in infrastructure in the Valencian Country"

The leader of the Spanish People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was in charge of closing the session. After forgetting about the DANA (National Action Plan) yesterday, today he only addressed the catastrophic flooding of October 29th, promising that if he takes office in Spain, he will invest €12 billion in damage to the Valencian region, especially its hydroelectric power plants. On this occasion, and unlike yesterday, the Galician politician forgot about Monday's power outage, to which he devoted almost his entire speech on Tuesday but which today merited virtually no reflection.