The president of the PP and candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has incorporated nine regional councilors into the lists with which he will run in the general elections on November 29. This move forces the heads of the executives of Galicia, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Madrid, and La Rioja to make changes in the composition of their Governments.
With an eye on a possible arrival at La Moncloa, Feijóo has chosen to surround himself with officials with a long trajectory in administration. Thus, he has decided to add to his candidacies 11 public officials from nine regional governments (nine of them, councilors) and 236 mayors, among whom are six mayors of provincial capitals.
In detail, the leader of the PP has incorporated the councilor of the Presidency of Cantabria, Isabel Urrutia (Congress); the councilor of Education of Castilla y León, María Pardo (Congress); the councilor of Social Services, Family, and Childhood of the Generalitat Valenciana, Elena Albalat (Congress); and the councilor of Social Policy of the Xunta de Galicia, Fabiola García (Congress).
Also joining the lists are the councilor of Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo (Congress); the councilor of Tourism of the Region of Murcia, Carmen Conesa (Congress); the councilor of Education of La Rioja, Alberto Galiana (Congress); the councilor of Urbanism and Transport of Ceuta, Rafael Martínez Peñalver (Congress); and the councilor of Culture, Tourism, and Sports of Cantabria, Luis Venancio Martínez Abad (Senate).
As a direct consequence of these signings, the following will have to undertake remodeling in their regional executives: Alfonso Rueda (Galicia), Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (Castilla y León), María José Sáenz de Buruaga (Cantabria), Juanfran Pérez Llorca (Comunidad Valenciana), Fernando López Miras (Murcia), and Isabel Díaz Ayuso (Community of Madrid). They are joined by the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, who will have to restructure his cabinet after one of his councilors leaves to take a seat in the new Cortes of the XVI legislature, whose constitution is scheduled for December 23.
SUSANA CAMARERO GOES TO THE SENATE BUT WILL REMAIN IN THE CONSELL
The Organic Law of General Electoral Regime (LOREG) establishes that it is incompatible to be an autonomous councilor and run as a candidate for Congress, so councilors who make the leap to the Lower House must abandon their responsibilities in regional governments.
The same does not happen with the Senate, as it is the chamber of territorial representation. In that context, the first vice president and councilor of Housing, Employment, Youth, and Equality of the Valencian Community, Susana Camarero, will maintain her position in the Consell and will continue to perform her duties despite heading the PP list for the Senate for Valencia, as confirmed to Europa Press by sources from the Generalitat.
SOME CHANGES HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE
One of the last to announce changes in her Government has been the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. She has reorganized three councils after the incorporation of councilor Carlos Novillo and vice councilor José Antonio Sánchez to the PP candidacy for Madrid, led by Feijóo. The replacement of Novillo in Environment, Agriculture, and Interior will be Jorge Rodrigo, who is leaving his responsibilities in Housing and Transport.
In communities like Castilla y León, the replacement has already materialized. This Monday, María del Valle Ares, until now the general secretary of the Ministry of Education, took office, replacing María Pardo, head of the PP list for Valladolid.
Adjustments have also been made in the Canary Executive presided over by Fernando Clavijo (CC), which governs with the support of the PP. Feijóo has chosen Gustavo González de Vega, until now vice councilor of Economy in the islands, to head the candidacy for Congress for Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In the Balearic Islands, in the Congress list headed by the president of the PP of Eivissa, José Vicente Marí Bosó, the 'number two' will be Antònia Roca, current first vice president of the Consell de Mallorca and insular councilor of Culture and Heritage. Her leap to national politics will also require a reconfiguration in the governing body of the island.
NUMEROUS MAYORS ON FEIJÓO'S LISTS
In addition to the autonomous councilors, Feijóo has decided to include 236 mayors in his lists for Congress and the Senate, some from large municipalities. The first name he made public was that of Xavier García Albiol, mayor of Badalona (Barcelona), who will be 'number one' of the PP for Congress for Barcelona.
The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá; the mayor of Huelva, Pilar Miranda; and the mayor of Toledo, Carlos Velázquez, who lead the candidacies for Congress in their respective provinces, are also listed.
In the Upper Chamber, several councilors will also run alongside Feijóo in the November lists, such as the mayor of Santander, Gemma Igual; the mayor of Teruel, Emma Buj; or the mayor of Valladolid, Jesús Julio Carnero, who returns to head the PP list for his province to the Senate.
Likewise, in the 'popular' candidacies, the four presidents of the provincial councils of Córdoba, Málaga, Ávila, and Soria stand out, who will join the future Popular Parliamentary Group in the Senate.
The Madrid City Council will also have a presence in the Senate lists with the deputy mayor, Inmaculada Sanz, who will occupy the second position in the candidacy for the Upper Chamber, behind Pedro Rollán.
60% RENEWAL IN THE HEADS OF LIST FOR CONGRESS
The Electoral Committee of the PP, chaired by the Galician Diego Calvo, has given the green light this Monday to the lists for Congress and the Senate with which the party will run in the general elections, coinciding with the deadline for registering candidacies.
In Congress, the PP renews 31 of the 52 heads of list, which represents 60%. In the Senate, of the 58 'number ones', 41 are new, so there has been a renewal of over 70% in the Upper Chamber, as detailed by the party in a note.
In that statement, the PP emphasized that the criterion of the Electoral Committee has been to choose people with "an extensive political career, as well as proven experience in public management and in the private sector."
The party has highlighted that, given the significance of these elections, "the most decisive since the Transition due to the drift in which the Government has placed Spain," a profound renewal of the candidacies has been promoted, incorporating profiles that, "due to their political background, broaden and enrich the project led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo."
"These candidacies have been crafted with unity and solely thinking about forming solid parliamentary groups to provide the best service to Spaniards from the Cortes Generales," adds the statement, which emphasizes that the Electoral Committee has selected people who "know the challenges and needs of the citizens of their constituency and who will defend their interests."