Mazón resigns and Feijóo is left in the hands of Vox in Valencia

Barcelona / MadridMore than a year after the devastating DANA storm and his controversial handling of the situation, the Valencian president, Carlos Mazón, has resigned. He announced his resignation this Monday without even using the word "resignation." "I can't take it anymore," Mazón stated in an early morning press conference, speaking entirely in Spanish. The Valencian president offered self-criticism, but also blamed the Spanish government for the handling of the storm. However, he will not call elections, instead leaving it up to his party to negotiate a deal with Vox to choose his successor. This scenario will not be easy for Alberto Núñez Feijóo, as Mazón's resignation comes at one of the worst possible times for the People's Party (PP), with stagnant poll numbers and Vox gaining ground. In fact, Santiago Abascal's party hinted at their willingness to reach an agreement with the PP.

Mazón's resignation came before journalist Maribel Vilaplana, with whom he had lunch for over four hours on the day of the storm, gave her statement. Despite appearing at nine in the morning, the final signature didn't appear until three in the afternoon. During his appearance—there was no question-and-answer session with journalists—the acting Valencian president stated that "the Generalitat needs a new era." He also asked that "there not be a campaign of hatred or targeting of anyone." "May my departure allow this tragedy to be approached with the objectivity it requires, and may society, once the noise subsides, be able to distinguish between a man who made a mistake and a bad person," he added, with the memory of the storm still very much alive. the booing he received during the state funeral on the first anniversary of the DANA storm

However, Mazón has given no clues about his future, at least not in the distant future. In the short term, the Alicante leader will remain as interim president until the PP reaches an agreement with Vox on who should replace him. In this regard, he has appealed to the "responsibility" of the parliamentary majority to choose the new head of the Consell: the conservatives need the support of the far-right Vox party to choose his successor. In this scenario, the name of the number two in the Valencian PP and Mazón's right-hand man, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, who forged the investiture pact with Santiago Abascal's party, is seen as a likely transitional solution. The national leadership has never hidden its desire for the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, to be president of the Generalitat, although now sources within the leadership deny that they are her supporters. Before that, there is also a power struggle that must be resolved: that of Vicent Mompó. the candidate proposed by the Valencian PP, and Catalá.

Feijóo asks Vox for "responsibility"

Regarding this power struggle between the national leadership and the Valencian PP, he made no reference to the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in his public address before the party's executive committee meeting this Monday. Feijóo, like Mazón, focused on calling for "responsibility" from Vox. "I ask the parties that support the regional government to rise to the occasion and facilitate the election of a president," he stated. Meanwhile, the PSPV and Compromís parties did not hesitate to demand early elections, a scenario that is also being considered in Madrid. The PP leader used his speech to defend Mazón's decision in light of the "mistakes" made, but denounced a "political and personal witch hunt" against the Valencian president: "He is not a murderer." But the message from Mazón and Feijóo to Santiago Abascal's party has not received the desired response. For now, the far right is leaving the future of the Valencian government up in the air. "What should I say about the future [of the Consell]? That the PP is in the midst of internal disputes. First, let them sort things out among themselves, and then we will state our position," the Vox leader declared in a press conference in Plasencia (Extremadura). Abascal's party, in fact, took the opportunity to criticize the PP's decision to call early elections in Extremadura, where the Popular Party also governs thanks to their support.

Criticism of the Spanish government

During his speech, Mazón didn't hesitate to attack the Spanish government. After asserting that he would have resigned "many months ago," he defended his earlier decision, stating that he wanted to focus on the reconstruction of the towns affected by the storm that claimed 229 lives. "I know that the noise surrounding me is the perfect excuse to hide the [Spanish] government's failure to take responsibility," both for the "erroneous information" disseminated on October 29th and for the delay in aid and the "appalling reconstruction." The Alicante leader described the storm as an "unimaginable tsunami," but again blamed state agencies for failing to warn of its effects. He specifically targeted the Júcar River Basin Authority (CHX) and the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). "They disseminated erroneous information, but I won't call them 'murderers' for making mistakes in their forecasts," he stated. He also criticized the "glaring lack of help" from Pedro Sánchez's government. Feijóo joined in, accusing the Spanish government of "cynicism" for trying to "evade its responsibility."

And finally, Mazón offered some self-criticism. "It's time to acknowledge our own mistakes," he admitted. In this regard, he listed some, such as allowing "lies to be spread in order to avoid providing information at the time," not requesting a national emergency declaration—as Alberto Núñez Feijóo had proposed—or thinking that receiving the Spanish government "friendly" would "speed up the aid." But above all, he emphasized that his main mistake was "sticking to the schedule for that day." "With the forecasts, it was unimaginable that the Poio ravine would become a death trap, but it's true that by midday the storm was already hitting Utiel, and I should have gone there," he admitted.

"I have made mistakes that will haunt me for the rest of my life," he added, after saying that the first victims did not appear until the early hours of October 30. "I have apologized and I repeat it today, but none of the mistakes were due to political calculation or bad faith," he insisted.