“We continue to work because this project is worthwhile.” After another crushing electoral defeat, Ines Arrimadas will not give up. This condemns Ciudadanos and Madrid politics to socialism. Leader of the Liberals, Ines Arrimadas, is not ready to concede defeat to the party and will fight to regain her space in which the PP was installed after absorbing nearly all of her electorate. This thesis has led her to call a national political convention next July. It is not a congress. The purpose of the convention is to listen to the militancy, and to oppose ideas in order to “relaunch” the “liberal centre” project. She stated that “We are more important than ever” before the permanent committee of the party.
Arrimadas has suffered three electoral defeats in a year, all while he was at the top of the formation. He doesn’t see any need to make major changes in leadership or the political strategy of Ciudadanos. He acknowledged the serious blow the party suffered in Tuesday’s Madrid elections, where he lost 26 seats and was left without representation at the regional Parliament. The orange leader remained positive despite this. She blamed the slip in the polls on “polarization” but assured that it was not easy to defend the center.
There were no resignations or dismissals. Arrimadas promoted Edmundo bal, secretary of Communication of party, and Daniel Perez (leader of Ciudadanos Aragon) to the position of deputy general secretaries. They were rewarded for their “unquestionable dedication” and their contribution to the electoral campaign, which, while not enough to reach 5%, was well-received by the formation and some former leaders. They are out.
Perez and Bal will replace Carlos Cuadrado-Saavedra and Jose Maria Espejo–Saavedra. They resigned after the disastrous results in Catalonia, as well as the failed motion for censure in Murcia. This has opened up a serious internal crisis which continues to threaten to drive Ciudadanos out of power.
The president now has the support and cooperation of the entire executive that resigned yesterday with her. They claim he has to take responsibility for his mistakes in Albert Rivera’s “poisoned inherit” and that he is now printing his own stamp to go back to the roots of the party and regain the center space Ciudadanos lost when he tried to replace the PP in 2019.
The pivotal role the Liberals played during the pandemic, including supporting the PSOE in all extensions of the state alarm and sitting down to negotiate Budgets, was not fully understood by any sector of the party or by most of their voters. They watched with concern as they leaned towards the left while governing with a majority of the right. It is not easy to explain Murcian carambola, which ended in an own goal and saw two regional governments advance and lead to early elections in Madrid. This led to many people giving the lace for Ciudadanos.
As with the UCD, CDS, and UPyD, there is a real danger of extinction. Arrimadas refuses to give up. Arrimadas insists she is only at the top of the party for one year. She asks for the time to execute her project before those who ask her to convene an assembly as soon as possible. “A year ago, we started a new phase, which coincided with the pandemic. She stated that now, we are in the last phase of the pandemic. It is time to relaunch Spain’s liberal center.
The president will visit 17 autonomous communities in her effort to help the ship float. She will also open a “participatory dialogue with the militancy” to rebuild Citizens from the “bottom up.” Arrimadas said that the result “will need to be reflected” in July’s convention. This is a step the leader intends to take to resolve the crisis and to look forward to a future that doesn’t involve elections in the near term.
