Juanfran Pérez Llorca, a pragmatic mayor with a good relationship with Vox

ValenciaFrom Carlos Mazón's right-hand man to his possible successor. The predictions have come true, and Juanfran Pérez Llorca, the number two in the Valencian PP and spokesperson in the Valencian Parliament, has been chosen by Alberto Núñez Feijóo to try to convince Vox that it's better to invest him as president than to go to the polls.

The possible new president of the Generalitat, also the mayor of Finestrat, is a skillful and pragmatic person. A good negotiator, he has no problem adapting his discourse to the interlocutor, a circumstance that makes him ideal for navigating the path until the 2027 elections—if there isn't an early election—when the PP will choose its new leader, who, in principle, shouldn't be him but rather the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá—who is Valencia Mompón's preferred candidate.

Despite representing the more conciliatory wing of the PP, Llorca did not hesitate to lead the negotiations with Vox to invest Mazón as president, demonstrating that, beyond his personal positions, he is flexible and capable of adopting the arguments of Santiago Abascal's party. His good relationship with the far-right party is precisely another reason why the PP chose him.

His loyalty to Carlos Mazón is also noteworthy. In fact, in his office at the Valencian Parliament, he has a photograph of himself embracing the acting president of the Valencian government. On Mazón's orders, two days after the state funeral for the victims of the DANA storm, he convened the three provincial presidents with the aim of uniting the Valencian PP, demanding unity in the face of Madrid, and agreeing on a replacement to lead the Valencian government. From that lunch emerged his candidacy as interim replacement and that of Vicent Mompó for 2027. The move aimed to prevent the national leadership from imposing Catalá's name, which was not at all well-received in Genoa, and which has generated the current rift between the national and Valencian leadership.

The judge in the DANA case has summoned him to testify on November 21st to explain the three communications he had with the former Minister of Justice and the Interior, Salomé Pradas, on the day of the disaster: at 6:57 p.m. (when a missed call occurred), at 6:00 p.m. (9 seconds). Furthermore, after leaving El Ventorro, Mazón called Pérez Llorca twice at 6:57 p.m. According to what the politician from Finestrat explained to ARA, in the short time they spoke, he only offered his help in speaking with mayors from his party.