After two weeks of campaigning, rallies, interviews, debates, kilometers, and calls to vote, the candidates for the Presidency of the Junta de Andalucía will trade the podium for domestic life this Saturday. The reflection day of May 16, the eve of the May 17 regional elections, arrives with much more down-to-earth plans: family, walks, appetizers, shopping, beach, rest, and even laundry.
Politics will formally pause for a few hours before Andalusians head to the polls this Sunday. And the main candidates of the parties with parliamentary representation in the last legislature will take advantage of the break to slow down after an intense campaign.
The picture has its point: Moreno in Málaga with friends and family; Montero seeking a moment of calm with her mother; Gavira walking on the beach in Cádiz; Maíllo shopping in San Julián; and José Ignacio García putting his house in order before going to the Jerez Fair.
Juanma Moreno: appetizer in Málaga and time with family
The president of the Junta and candidate of the PP-A for re-election, Juanma Moreno, will spend the reflection day in Málaga, the province from which he is running in the elections and where he closed the campaign this Friday. According to his circle, he plans to have an appetizer with friends in the city and dedicate part of the day to being with his family.
The plan fits the tone that the popular candidate has wanted to project during a large part of the campaign: management, closeness, and normality. After the electoral closing, Moreno seeks a quiet day before a decisive night in which he plays whether he can repeat at the head of the Junta with a sufficient majority to govern.
The reflection day will be, in his case, a day in Málaga and with family. No events, no rallies, and no public campaigning. Only the calm before a vote that will mark the next Andalusian political cycle.
María Jesús Montero: family, rest, and a special visit to her mother
The candidate of the PSOE-A, María Jesús Montero, has explained that she wants to take advantage of the reflection day to visit her family, whom she admits to having "a little neglected" during the campaign. In particular, she wants to see her elderly mother to spend a quiet time with her.
Montero also plans to rest and, if possible, be with friends. The socialist candidate arrives at this day after a high-profile campaign, marked by her dual role as leader of the PSOE-A and central figure in Pedro Sánchez's government.
Her plan for Saturday has an evident intimate component. After days of intense political agenda, the candidate seeks refuge in the familiar before facing a key election night for Andalusian socialism.
Manuel Gavira: Cádiz, family, and a walk on the beach
The Vox candidate for the Junta, Manuel Gavira, will be in Cádiz this Saturday, the constituency for which he heads his party's list. His team explains that he will take advantage of the day to be with his family and take a walk on the beach.
The plan has a very Cadiz logic: disconnection, coast, and family before the count. Gavira arrives at the day of reflection after a campaign in which Vox has tried to present itself as a pressure alternative to the PP-A and to influence the post-election debate.
Saturday will be, for him, a day away from the campaign noise. On Sunday, the time will come to see if Vox maintains, expands, or reduces its capacity for influence in the Andalusian Parliament.
Antonio Maíllo: walk through San Julián and everyday shopping
The candidate for Por Andalucía and federal coordinator of IU, Antonio Maíllo, will spend the day of reflection in Seville. According to the coalition, he will take advantage of the day to walk through the San Julián neighborhood and do some everyday shopping.
The scene is very Maíllo: neighborhood, street, and normality. After a campaign in which Por Andalucía has sought to vindicate a useful, Andalusianist left with social roots, his day of reflection will have a discreet and everyday profile.
Walking, shopping, and regaining a bit of routine. Sometimes politics also comes down from the stage and returns to the neighborhood.
José Ignacio García: tidying up, cleaning, washing clothes, and the Jerez Fair
The Adelante Andalucía candidate, José Ignacio García, will probably have the most domestic plan of all. In the morning, he will return to Jerez de la Frontera after the closing rally in Seville and will take the opportunity to tidy up, clean, and wash clothes after two weeks of campaigning and more than 5,300 kilometers traveled throughout Andalusia, according to his candidacy.
In the afternoon, García plans to visit the Jerez Fair, which has coincided fully with the election campaign, to enjoy it for a while with his friends. The contrast is almost perfect: in the morning washing machines; in the afternoon fair. If that is not Andalusia on a day of reflection, it looks a lot like it.
The Adelante candidate arrives at Saturday after a very territorial campaign, with a lot of travel and strong presence in street events. His day of reflection will be a mix of rest, pending tasks, and an attempt to recover some personal life before March 17.
A day without campaigning before March 17
The day of reflection is the legal and political parenthesis between the closing of the campaign and the opening of the polls. Candidates can no longer ask for votes or hold electoral events, and parties enter a mandatory pause before citizens decide.