The battle for the presidency of the Popular Party's youth wing will pit up to three different teams against each other. As Demócrata has learned, the process to choose Bea Fanjul's successor at the head of Nuevas Generaciones will feature up to three candidacies. Ignacio Dancausa from Madrid could face the proposal of Candela Anglés from Valencia and the Murcian Antonio Landáburu in a contest that threatens to open an unprecedented scenario within the PP's youth organization.
Fanjul's succession opens an internal race with three contenders
Bea Fanjul's departure leaves one of the most strategic structures for the Popular Party open. Nuevas Generaciones not only functions as a political breeding ground for future party cadres but also as a thermometer of territorial and organic balance within Génova. And, on this occasion, the succession points to becoming a real internal battle between different profiles, sensibilities, and territories of the party.
In a message published on social media, the current president of the Popular Party's youth wing in the Community of Madrid announced his intention to lead the organization starting from the congress scheduled for next July 11.
“I want to lead an inclusive candidacy that unites Spanish youth and the organization, the largest in Spain at this crucial moment for our generation,” Dancausa stated in that message.
The Madrid leader, a student of the double degree in Public Management and Administration and Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid and a PP militant since 2018, seeks to project an image of generational renewal linked to the organic weight that Madrid maintains within the national structure of the party.
Ignacio Dancausa makes a move from Madrid
Ignacio Dancausa's candidacy had been rumored for months in various internal PP circles, although it is only now that the Madrid leader has taken the public step. His entourage insists that the objective is to build an "inclusive" list, capable of bringing together the different territorial delegations and avoiding internal fractures at the youth conclave.
However, various Popular sources admit that the appearance of more candidacies seriously complicates the possibility of reaching a unified list before the congress. The national leadership is observing the process closely, aware that the outcome will also serve to measure forces between different territorial sectors of the party.
The leadership of the popular youth has acquired added value in recent years. In the midst of the Popular Party's strategy to rebuild the youth vote, Génova considers it key to reinforce the political and media profile of New Generations in the face of the rise of other forces among the younger electorate.
Candela Anglés, the Valencian alternative
But Dancausa will not be alone in the dispute for the presidency of the organization. Different sources consulted by Demócrata confirm the intention of the current deputy in Les Corts Valencianes, Candela Anglés, to also run in the congressional process.
Although her circle calls for prudence until the current board of directors is officially dissolved next Monday, no one is hiding the Valencian leader's desire to fully enter the race for the PP's youth leadership.
This outlet has contacted Anglés, who for the moment has ruled out making public comments about a possible candidacy. Even so, different popular officials acknowledge that the Castellón leader has been holding conversations for weeks with territorial cadres and provincial leaders to test support for the July congress.
Territorial weight in the Valencian Community
Anglés represents one of the emerging profiles of the Valencian PP. She has been an autonomous deputy for the province of Castellón since September 2023, combining municipal organic experience with institutional projection within Les Corts.
A political scientist by training and a graduate in International Relations and Political Science, her career mixes an academic profile with intense local activism. Before landing in the Valencian Parliament, she served as a councilor and president of the PP in her hometown of Càlig.
She currently chairs the Education and Culture Commission and serves as the popular spokesperson in the Commission for Public Works, Housing, Infrastructure, and Transport. Within the popular parliamentary group, she has established herself as one of the most visible young voices in debates related to housing, infrastructure, and oversight of regional management.
Her possible candidacy would also introduce a strong territorial component into the internal battle, reinforcing the weight of the Valencian Community against the traditional prominence of Madrid within New Generations.
Murcia also enters the game
However, a third candidacy could end up shaking up the internal board. The current leader of the PP youth in the Region of Murcia, Antonio Landáburu, would also be seriously considering the possibility of running in the succession process.
Various popular contacts explain that, during recent months, the Murcian leader would have intensified contacts with territorial delegations and provincial cadres with the aim of gathering the necessary endorsements for a congress that is already perceived as highly competitive.
Party sources assure that Landáburu has been building a discreet support network for some time, especially among territorial organizations seeking a profile less linked to the large regional apparatuses of the PP.
Génova closely follows an unprecedented struggle
The possibility of up to three different candidacies running breaks with the usual dynamic of recent New Generations congresses, traditionally marked by prior agreements and integration lists promoted by the national leadership.
On this occasion, however, Bea Fanjul's succession threatens to become a real internal competition between territories and emerging leaderships. Madrid, the Valencian Community, and Murcia are now seeking to gain weight within an organization considered strategic for the political future of the Popular Party.
With less than two months until the congress, internal movements have already accelerated. Conversations between territorial delegations are multiplying, and the different aspirants are beginning to measure forces in search of endorsements and organizational support.
All of this paints a scenario of high internal tension in which the control of New Generations once again becomes a key piece in the balance of power of the Popular Party.