The PP has begun to rebuild itself after the February earthquake. The conservatives began this Friday in Seville the 20th congress of the party, a round number with which they want to leave behind wounds that will be remembered for decades. Alberto Núñez Feijóo has already chosen the two people he wants to help him in this mission: Cuca Gamarra, from the position of general secretary, and Elías Bendodo, as general coordinator. The choice of the latter is award to Juanma Moreno, President of the Junta de Andalucía, who encouraged him to take a step forward when, in mid-February, the merciless war between Paul Married and Isabel Diaz Ayuso.
Feijóo addressed the party late on Friday and asked his people to think about what the PP has done “for Spain” in “the worst moments” and believe that they are going to return to the central government. “I have come here to win and to rule!” he repeated twice to applause. “I claim the PP of the overwhelming majorities, the ones we achieved in Galicia, but not only in Galicia. I claim the PP of the absolute majorities of [José María] Aznar and [Mariano] Rajoy. That is our goal, “he continued as he lifted the popular from their seats at the Palacio de Congresos in Seville. And he gave another stitch with a lot of thread: “My commitment has no expiration date”. In case anyone believes that if he fails in the next generals, he will give up.
The new leader spurs on his team and urges them to repeat the absolute majorities of Aznar and Rajoy
In the front row, all the regional presidents listened to him, including Ayuso, and the comment was understood to be addressed to her. The president of the Community of Madrid had said minutes before, in the intervention of all the territorial leaders, that they have not come to Seville just to win “a congress”. “We have come to win elections”, he continued. The coexistence between the new leader and Ayuso promises. Both exchanged some messages between the lines. Feijóo called for “unity” and “loyalty” to the party and highlighted the urgent need for this to be the case for regional presidents. “It’s the only non-negotiable condition,” he added.
More names on Sunday
To those of Gamarra and Bendodo, the Galician leader added two more names. First, that of Jose Antonio Monago, who will be in charge of the rights and guarantees committee. “In case you need to put out a fire & rdquor; he joked, in a clear nod to an old friend who led the demands to raise Feijóo as the new president as soon as possible. It seems that the Galician politician has not weighed the controversy that Monago starred in 2014 for traveling to the Canary Islands 16 times in a year and a half, trips that, according to journalistic information, were due to personal reasons. The Supreme, in any case, shelved the complaint, because the PP claimed that he had gone to carry out “support work” for the party on the islands.
Monago will be the president of the rights and guarantees committee eight years after his controversy over trips to the Canary Islands
The second name is Diego Calvo, president of the PP of A Coruña, to whom he assigns the presidency of the election committee. The rest of the members of the future leadership, which continues to generate many nerves internally, will reveal them on Sunday after the first meeting of the national executive committee.
The weight it will have on that hard core remains to be seen. Madrid, after the alliance between Moreno and Feijóo has brought Bendodo to a key position. In addition to the presence on the executive committee and the board of directors, in Ayuso’s environment they acknowledge being “convinced & rdquor; that the Madrid community will be “very well represented.” Some Madrid leaders insisted that they must have “a powerful position & rdquor; that places them “in the place they deserve.”
“I support a good manager, a good politician and a good friend,” said Casado about his successor
Married will leave the seat
The day passed between hugs, of joy to congratulate the chosen ones and also of consolation. The married farewell It was one of the main dishes of the day. Until this Saturday, the national president announced that he will leave his seat in Congress and all responsibilities in the party, and laid out the red carpet for his successor: “I support a good manager, a good politician and a good friend & rdquor ; . “Alberto, you can always count on me, wherever I am, for whatever you need and whatever may be useful & rdquor ;, he said. He also acknowledged having lived “a bittersweet month, which began with a feeling of injustice & rdquor ;, but that” it was worth it despite everything & rdquor ;.
Married returned to defend “having always told the truth, whatever it cost & rdquor; and he recognized that his step aside will allow him to give back to his family all the time that politics stole from him. The final ovation proved that the PP turns the page in peace.
Feijóo defends “cordial bilingualism” and emphasizes that “languages are not to confront, but to unite”
Although Feijóo’s most political speech will be this Saturday, he did point out some brushstrokes on key issues. As he already did during his visits to Catalonia and Euskadi in the internal campaign, he once again defended the PP as “the party of cordial bilingualism & rdquor ;, insisting that “languages are not fought, but respected” and that “languages are not to confront, but to unite”. It is an amendment to the entire language policy of Casado and that promises to be a hallmark of the new PP.