The PP aspires to govern alone in Castile and León

MadridOnce established as the leading force in Castile and León With Vox performing less strongly than the polls predicted, the People's Party (PP) faces the challenge of forming a government. And its aim is to do so alone. This was expressed the day after the electoral victory by the PP candidate, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco. In an interview this Monday on COPE radio, Mañueco said he prefers a single-party government with external support from the far right. "It's what has worked best," he argued. baron The Popular Party (PP), which emerges strengthened from these elections, faces the burden that negotiations for its investiture will have to run parallel to talks in Extremadura and Aragon, where the PP also needs Vox's votes and where negotiations for a coalition government have been stalled for months. Mañueco recalled the "good agreement" reached in 2022 with the far-right party, which, in that case, did involve Vox joining the regional government. However, in the summer of 2024, Santiago Abascal's party left the executive, and the PP leader believes they have fared better on their own. "The best thing for my region has been a single-party government. This is the project we want to offer," he insisted. baron Popular during a press conference outside the PP headquarters in Madrid, Mañueco was greeted with applause in a celebratory and satisfied atmosphere regarding the positive results, which were even met with a degree of surprise. PP sources highlighted the feat of the Castilian-Leonese president improving his results despite the wear and tear of governing for the past seven years. Mañueco received the party's support at the meeting of the PP's national executive committee held on Génova Street, where Alberto Núñez Feijóo addressed his party members with the challenge of securing Vox's support for three of its regional leaders to be sworn in, and with an eye on the upcoming elections in Andalusia in June. Sources within the Aragonese PP predicted that "everything will be more or less coordinated" across the three regions and that negotiations, once the Castilian-Leonese elections are over, "will intensify." The president of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, has also argued that they have fared better governing alone than with Vox, but he hasn't ruled out a coalition either. "If the essential requirement is to be included, that won't be an excuse for not reaching an agreement," the same sources say. Mañueco has also not ruled out a coalition, although he has emphasized that "the most important thing is being able to build a project for the future, not the seats." In fact, during the campaign, the president of Castile and León championed his solo administration and criticized Vox for "abandoning" its responsibilities in government. However, Mañueco stressed that he understands the "command to dialogue" from the ballot box and has advocated for a pact with a four-year legislative horizon to ensure stability. "We must engage in dialogue" and form an "alternative," said Mañueco, who at the same time is very clear that the PSOE is not a viable coalition partner. "It's absolutely unfeasible," Mañueco stated, emphasizing that the Socialists, in the midst of "Sanchismo," "cannot be trusted."