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 Popular Party (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 vagueness or a lack of leadership. The congress he has called for early July will bring the hardliners represented by Ayuso face to face with the moderate ones represented by the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno. It remains to be seen whether Feijóo manages to keep them in check.

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.

A new face

Some voice of the PP reminds us that Feijóo is not a man of revolutions and predicts surgical changes in the leadership, with the possibility of some more territories being introduced. Daniel Sirera has been elected, the PP spokesperson in Barcelona City Council with ties to Génova - as do the general secretary, Santi Rodríguez, and Dolors Montserrat - unlike what happens with the president of the Catalan PP, Alejandro Fernández, who sympathizes with the harder-line wing of Ayuso, who also represents the deputy spokesperson.

In the current leadership, in fact, Feijóo already combines sensibilities and territories. Today, he has Cuca Gamarra (La Rioja) and Borja Sémper (Basque Country), a number two and a spokesperson with a moderate profile, coexist with a Galician spokesperson in Congress of his utmost confidence, Miguel Tella. León). Representing Madrid are Paloma Martín and Noelia Núñez, and the Andalusian quota is represented by Juan Bravo and Elías Bendodo. Valenciano), which could leave the territory presided over by Carlos Mazón without a quota, which 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.