Castilla y Leon elections had not previously focused so much attention upon the PP headquarters at Genova Street. Popular leaders want regional elections to be the first opportunity for Pablo Casado to showcase his project. The electoral machinery must work at its full capacity. The conservative leadership, who welcomed the call with joy, plans to replicate the success of Isabel Diaz Ayuso’s Madrid victory, that is, a majority large sufficient to govern itself without external or internal support. According to recent polls, Vox’s escalation of voting intention -which would double the result it achieved three years ago according to CIS- seems to be becoming more difficult. Casado is not willing to compromise with the far-right group and continues his attack.
Alfonso Fernandez Manueco was the PP candidate for Avila. The conservative leader demanded that the vote be unified around the PP ballot this Sunday. He referred to it as the “third Spain” and baptized it against the Sanchismo and Vox. Santiago Abascal was actually the one to accuse of accusing them of benefiting from the left and fracturing center-right. “Spain can’t be unified by disunifying its vote. He declared that we are a peaceful right that unites.
He does not want to have any uneasy ties with the far right formation, and yesterday he attempted to make ground with a string of harsh criticisms. He criticized him for running in Castilla y Leon despite his support for a decentralized state with no autonomous communities. He referred to him as a facilitator for Sanchez’s policies, recalling that he did not sign the decree for the distribution European funds. He also pointed out Vox’s alleged connections to Russia during heightened tensions over the Ukraine crisis.
This is a distancing that 13-F might force to modify. These polls show that the popular ones are far below the absolute majority. The last average polls gave them 34 attorneys in regional Courts. They only hope that their result will add more deputies to the whole left. Vox is forced to accept a government as the only option. This scenario would be dependent on the will and ability of the far-right, which seems to not be up to it.
Abascal and his friends are determined to correct what they see as “mistakes”, especially after the Madrid elections. They understand that they “given” the abstention from Diaz Ayuso, and now it is hard for them to claim themselves an alternative. Vox already stated that its parliamentarians will be essential for guaranteeing governability. This would severely hinder Casado’s strategy in the race to Moncloa.
Jose Maria Aznar, his mentor, was brave enough to ask him about the road map during Saturday’s campaign event in Valladolid. “Sometimes, I hear that you must win to take, I don’t even know who to Moncloa but, listen, it is the question of what to do?” The former Prime Minister was very critical of the PP leadership’s belief that they are already doing everything.
Aznar asked Casado to provide a strong and constructive leadership against Vox’s advances and internal struggles that have been eroding his party in recent months. He also urged his supporters not to allow votes from the right flank to flee. He warned that there are many who believe they can find magic solutions to problems, or lie to the populists.
The PP leadership consider Aznar’s speech “one more diagnosis” for the voices within the party. They insist that Casado is “incontestable” as a leader and that there is “a project to spare.” For his part, he defended himself as the leader of PP.
Casado stated that he has an action plan. This was evident in the Valencia convention, when he not just formalized an alternative for Sanchez but also gave what is known as his “investiture speech”. Due to the drift of his pacts between Podemos, independentistas and others, he also warned the socialist. He warned that if it continues in this manner, the PSOE would “disappear” if it “accepts those who want the destruction of the nation”.
