Alfonso Fernandez Manueco and Pablo Casado have shifted their electoral discourse to the belief that the PP will rule Castilla y Leon alone. Isabel Diaz Ayuso made public yesterday what popular leaders were quietly discussing, the inevitable agreement with Vox. “Hopefully it won’t be necessary, but if necessary I would always agree avec Ortega Lara’s party (Vox), before with those that kidnapped his father,” said the Madrid president during an act in Valladolid. He starred alongside Manueco.
After the Sunday appointment, the leader of the PP has been interviewed and rallied by his regional candidate about the thesis of the pact he made with Santiago Abascal. Recognizing this scenario is admitting the need to appeal to the useful vote of Manueco and Casado. Campaign strategists warn that signing an agreement prior to the elections does not give you the right to vote for one of the parties, as they will eventually understand each other.
Vox also raises the cost of its cooperation in this instance. Abascal’s supporters are not satisfied with the external cooperation and want to join the regional government, if necessary. Casado does not want to be a co-governor with Vox. This scenario encourages the right-leaning voters to move and drives away the most moderate ones.
Strategy. Experts believe that discussing pacts prior to the election demobilizes voters
Double function. Ayuso’s presence is intended to encourage Vox expansion and stop it from expanding further.
Testing bench. Castilla y Leon will determine the future course of relations between the PP and the extreme right
Yesterday, however, the Madrid president demanded that the PP leader not be afraid to sign an agreement with Vox. Vox was founded by Jose Antonio Ortega Lara and kidnapped for 532 days by ETA. She said that this understanding will always be better than an agreement with socialists who she claimed “agree with those responsible for kidnapping” the former prison officer in 1996. In any event, she helped to keep the main message of the campaign alive and demanded that the PP be elected to Castilla y Leon.
Casado has always avoided discussing pacts and approaches to Vox. He distanced himself from Pedro Sanchez’s far-right party after his speech on October 22, 2020 in Abascal’s motion for censure. Relations between both parties have not been restored.
Castilla y Leon’s low expectations for electoral success can have a dramatic impact on everything. Madrid’s regional elections in May were overruled by Ayuso, and Vox was given a second role. The future of relations between these two formations will depend on the outcome of the test next Sunday.
The PP changed its strategy and Ayuso was able to infiltrate the Castilian Leon campaign. Like the other barons, his presence would be restricted to a single day. It was planned by Manueco and the party leadership. Last Friday, the Madrid president was present at electoral acts in Segovia (Burgos) and this caused a lot of excitement among PP supporters. Her presence at the regional congresses of conservatives such as Castilla-La Mancha in November last year had already made an impact. Ayuso’s collaborators proudly remembered that it took them an hour and a quarter to travel 200 m in Segovia. They recognized Manueco’s environment as a sign that she had a lot of pull.
The campaign was at a crucial moment, when the PP fell in the polls and Vox on the rise. At this point, the national leadership and the campaign team doubled the presence of President of the Community of Madrid. Her popularity is not only what she inspires in popular voters but also her prestige with extreme right-leaning people, as demonstrated by the Madrid elections and the discrete result of Vox.
Yesterday, Ayuso met the candidate in Valladolid at noon. In the afternoon, he went to Avila and repeated the scenes of passion, frenzy, and excitement. Although he is expected to participate in the closing ceremony, the Madrid government has not confirmed his participation. Casado, Manueco will be the main protagonists at that meeting. The PP barons should not intervene to create an image of unity but cover them. Juanma Moreno of Andalusian has made a name for himself at the Dubai Expo. Ayuso could be the next victim of “schedule issues”.
