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.

Among the agreements he has achieved, the most notable are those that allowed Compromís to have a representative at the Les Corts table—at the expense of the PSPV—the pact in the Valencia Provincial Council between the PP and the progressive party Ens Uneix, and the budget agreement with Compromís when he and Mazón were in the Alicante Provincial Council.

Despite being a representative of the more conciliatory wing of the PP and delivering many of his speeches in Valencian—an unusual circumstance among conservatives—Lorca did not hesitate to lead the negotiations with Vox to invest Mazón as president, demonstrating that, beyond his personal positions, he is a flexible and capable individual. His good relationship with the far-right party is precisely another reason why the PP has backed him.

His loyalty to Carlos Mazón should also be noted. In fact, in his office at the Valencian Parliament, he has a photograph of himself embracing the acting head of the Valencian government. On the acting head's orders, two days after the state funeral for the victims of the devastating storm, he summoned the three provincial presidents with the aim of uniting the Valencian Popular Party, demanding loyalty, and agreeing on a replacement for the president. From that meeting emerged his candidacy as interim successor and that of Vicent Mompó for the 2027 elections. The move was intended to prevent the national leadership from imposing Catalá's name, which was not well received at the party headquarters on Génova Street and has led to the current rift between Feijóo and the Valencian leadership. The magistrate overseeing 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 brief time they spoke, he only offered his help in contacting mayors from his party. On a personal note, and coming from a town with a strong tourism tradition, it is worth mentioning that he and his sisters run a beachfront hotel on the Costa Blanca, although they are the ones who manage the day-to-day operations of the establishment. Among the more curious facts, we find that for a few years he was nicknamed "the socialist," as he was perceived as the most progressive student in his group at the La Concepción boarding school in Ontinyent, which belongs to the Franciscan order and where the owner of Mercadona, Juan Roig, also studied, as detailed by the newspaper. The SpanishAs for his free time, his passion for football is well known, which he demonstrates by being a big fan of the La Liga Fantasy video game and of Elche, recently returned to the first division, for which he is a season ticket holder.