The PP of Catalonia will hold its XVI regional congress this Saturday, an event in which the current president, Alejandro Fernández, will predictably be confirmed again in office and the general secretariat will be renewed after the departure of Santi Rodríguez.
Under the slogan 'Volem més', this conclave, postponed since 2022, aims to consolidate the party as a reformist proposal based on "law and order", as stated in the document that will guide political orientation in the coming years.
The national leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will attend the meeting and will also speak during the day. The objective is to bolster the progress of the ''populares'' in Catalonia, a key territory for Feijóo himself to aspire to reach Moncloa.
In coherence with the congress slogan ('We want more', in Spanish), the Catalan PP aims to strengthen its presence and present itself as a governing alternative after decades of nationalist and socialist 'governs'.
With Fernández's continuity in the presidency (which he has held since 2018) assured as no other candidate is running, attention is now focused on the election of the new general secretary, following Santi Rodríguez's departure.
It will be Alejandro Fernández himself who designates the party's new number two, and the name that sounds strongest is that of the current spokesperson for the 'populares' in the Parlament, Juan Fernández.
"After 5 years I have done everything I had to do," Rodríguez assured this Friday in his last interview as general secretary on 'TV3', where he avoided commenting on who should succeed him in the position.
Consolidated leadership
Fernández faces this XVI PPC congress with consolidated leadership, after having become a key player in the party's resurgence in Catalonia, going from 3 to 15 seats in the Parlament in the last regional elections.
This electoral advance has served him to regain Feijóo's confidence, with whom he had maintained disagreements that have now been overcome, as various 'popular' voices have emphasized over the last year, and which led Génova to consider his replacement at the head of the party in 2024.
Once the tensions have dissipated, motivated above all by the relationship that both 'popular' leaderships considered appropriate to maintain with Junts, the goal now is to close the gap with the PSOE in the next general elections.
In any case, the paper that will be debated and voted on this Saturday does not contemplate possible pactos with other formations and establishes a position of internal neutrality to avoid clashes between the different sensitivities of the party.
New roadmap
The Catalan 'populares' will define their strategy in a roadmap coordinated by Senator Juan Milián, with the deputy in the Parliament Lorena Roldán and the former deputy Fernándo Sánchez Costa as rapporteurs.
The document places law and order as the main axis and calls "urgently for a new regional financing model, with more resources and the result of consensus" among all autonomous communities.
The paper proposes "ordered control of migratory flows" to safeguard social cohesion and the proper functioning of public services, as well as the expulsion of irregular foreigners who commit crimes.
Likewise, it warns that "Islamist fundamentalism is becoming a threat to freedom" and emphasizes that, while Islam is a respectable confession protected by law, fundamentalism constitutes a totalitarian ideology.
The roadmap also refers to economic freedom and commits to "a strong reduction in the tax burden on families, the self-employed and businesses, eliminating taxes that penalize saving, investment and the transfer of assets".
Alternative to "nationalism"
The text also proposes to "strengthen the effective presence" of State institutions in Catalonia, such as the State Security Forces and Corps, providing them with sufficient resources and operational capacity to fully exercise their functions.
The document criticizes that "nationalism has subordinated institutions and the real needs of citizens to a project of division" and presents the PP as an option based on freedom against that model.
Feijóo will close the congress
"We want to continue growing and incorporate thousands of Catalans tired of separatism and socialism. And there is another additional reason, because Catalonia will be decisive in the political change that Spain needs" for Núñez Feijóo to reach Moncloa, assured the president of the organizing committee of the congress, Llanos de Luna.
The congress will begin at 9 in the morning with the initial intervention of Llanos de Luna, will continue with the speeches of Alejandro Fernández before and after his re-election, and will close with the final intervention of Alberto Núñez Feijóo.