Mazón, Moreno, Mañueco: the PP's image as a governing party is sinking

BarcelonaThe Spanish political system means that the management of services that affect citizens in their daily lives depends almost exclusively on the autonomous communities. However, the paradox is that public debate focuses almost exclusively on the Congress of Deputies and the central government. That is, until something like the DANA storm or the breast cancer screenings occur. It is then that PP voters discover that Pedro Sánchez isn't entirely to blame.

The PP concentrates almost all regional power, which means that the education and healthcare of 65% of the population depend on PP officials. The PP's strength has always been seen as a party of governance, and they boast of being the ones who balance the books after the wasteful spending of the left. But, lo and behold, the PP's management in the regions where it governs is starting to falter. It's not just the case of Mazón, who has become a dead weight threatening to sink the entire PP, but also prominent figures like Juanma Moreno Bonilla, with the breast cancer screening case, and Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, with the arson case, who now face legal investigations that could damage their reputations.

In Mazón's specific case, it's not just the PP's image as a governing party that's at stake, but also Alberto Núñez Feijóo's image as a leader capable of making tough decisions and firing people when circumstances demand it. The Madrid conservative press's offensive against Mazón isn't explained by a sense of democratic responsibility, but rather by the growing panic in the capital about another defeat for Feijóo at the hands of a seemingly unshakeable Sánchez.

The Galician leader needs to reach the end of the year without Mazón and with an absolute majority in Extremadura if he wants any chance. The Alicante politician's days seem numbered, but the Valencian PP is a pressure cooker where the only thing currently filling auditoriums is Francisco Camps. And María Guardiola is risking everything on December 21st. It's either an absolute majority or utter humiliation. There's no middle ground. In two months, we'll know the outcome.

The details

Valencian politics is experiencing an exceptional moment not only because of the questioning of Carlos Mazón as president, but also because even the leading conservative newspaper in the capital, the daily The ProvincesHe openly demands the resignation of the Popular Party leader. Never before has a PP leader found himself in a similar situation, abandoned even by his closest allies.

This week, a video went viral showing Vox councilman José Manuel Algarín speaking in Sant Boi, dressed in a military jacket, a khaki shirt with an embroidered Cross of Burgundy, and a bracelet with the Spanish flag. The speech has caused hilarity on social media because Algarín is all over the place and doesn't say anything that makes any sense.