The two souls of the PP, face to face

MadridThe arrival of Alberto Núñez Feijóo to Genoa in April 2022 was a balm after the war between Pablo Casado and Isabel Díaz Ayuso"We need him to bring peace to the party," said the Madrid president during the tour undertaken by the then Galician president, prior to the congress that placed him at the head of the PP. Feijóo has chosen not to touch the skin of the leader of the Madrid PP, and with his mantra of "respecting the autonomy" of the regions, he has so far maintained the balance between the two souls of the party, although at the cost of often giving an image of indecision or a lack of leadership. The congress he has called for early July will bring the hardliners embodied by Ayuso face to face with the moderate ones embodied by the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno. It remains to be seen whether Feijóo manages to keep them both with their swords undrawn. This Saturday, at an event in Galicia with the regional president of the PP, Alfonso Rueda, he proclaimed that the conclave will serve to demonstrate that "the Spain of change is worth it."

The election of 'barons'

The men The people Feijóo has entrusted with the reports that will be voted on at the congress are from the moderate line. Juanma Moreno is precisely the one leading the drafting of the political document with the president of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco. The party attributes the choice more to the fact that both have regional elections next year than to a desire to establish a specific vision. However, the fact that Mañueco and the presidents of Extremadura and Murcia, María Guardiola and Fernando López Miras, in charge of the report on the statutes, are also placed in a more moderate orbit—although they have shared government with Vox—has already generated suspicions.

Ayuso and former leaders of her party, such as José María Aznar and Esperanza Aguirre, have already sent warnings in Feijóo And the Madrid PP is expected to present amendments to shift positions toward a more pro-Ayuso line. They argue that the PP should not only oppose Sánchez, but also wage the cultural battle and rearm ideologically. In a meeting with members from the region this Friday, Ayuso encouraged them to participate in the congress to "present new ideas." Although Feijóo has guaranteed that she will promote debate among the different internal sensibilities, fearing that the report will end up tiptoeing around the most controversial issues, as has happened so far, the hardline sector urges a clear direction that "is capable of inspiring."

In the PP of Madrid, however, they claim that in the political report they are represented by Alma Ezcurra, MEP and coordinator of the think tank Reformismo 21, linked to the PP, which had been part of Ayuso's parliamentary group in the Regional Assembly. There is a deep dispute between those labeled moderates and Ayuso. "What happens is that she shouts louder," one of them points out.

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Ayuso is a free-for-all within the party and has fewer endorsements among cadres across the country, although she has the support of Madrid's economic and media powers. The Madrid leader, in fact, has made it clear that she is exerting pressure on Feijóo with gestures such as The only regional president who did not meet with Pedro Sánchez at Moncloa and with statements that have marked the direction of the popular leader.

Some voiceThe PP's leader reminds us that Feijóo is not a man of revolutions and predicts surgical changes in the leadership, with the possibility of introducing more territories. Among those in charge of the presentations are also representatives from Cantabria (with the mayor of Santander, Gema Igual), Aragón (with the mayor of Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca), and Catalonia. In the case of the Catalan PP, Feijóo has chosen Daniel Sirera, the PP spokesperson in Barcelona City Council who is in tune with Génova (as are the secretary general, Santi Rodríguez, and Dolors Montserrat), unlike the president of the Catalan PP, Alejandro Fernández, who sympathizes with the more hardline wing of Álvarez de Toledo.

In the current leadership, in fact, Feijóo already combines sensibilities and territories. For now, he has Cuca Gamarra (La Rioja) and Borja Sémper (Basque Country), a second-in-command and a moderate spokesperson, coexisting with a Galician spokesperson in Congress whom he most trusts, Miguel Tellado, who has a tougher tone. A style also adopted by Ester Muñoz (Castile and León). Paloma Martín and Noelia Núñez represent Madrid, and Juan Bravo and Elías Bendodo represent the Andalusian quota. In the latest reshuffle, other moderate profiles also entered the European Parliament, such as Carmen Fúnez (Castile-La Mancha) and Ana Alós (Aragón).

Esteban González Pons (Valencian Country) is in the European Parliament, which could leave the territory presided over by Carlos Mazón, who Nor has any room been made in Congress And from the DANA perspective, it's in a kind of no-man's-land. Melilla, however, is represented in Congress with the election of Representative Sofía Acedo to accompany Serrano in the organization.

The role of former presidents

Mariano Rajoy and José María Aznar, who have been at odds for years, are also a symbol of these two souls: the former, alongside Feijóo, and the latter, aligned with Ayuso. The current leader of the Popular Party is proud of having reconciled these two souls and of having been able to bring together the two former presidents of the Spanish government and the PP in the same photograph. They both knew before that the men that the congress was brought forward and they are expected to attend. However, the differences between them remain quite palpable.