The president of the PP and aspiring candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has decided to begin his campaign events next Saturday, October 7, in Valladolid, in what will be his first rally since the Urda (Toledo) railway accident, which happened ten days ago and in which at least 69 people have died.
Valladolid is the province of the Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, who was previously mayor of the city. In addition, Puente leads the PSOE candidacy for this constituency in the general elections of November 29.
During the meeting of the PP National Executive Committee, Feijóo came down hard on Puente, considering that he should not remain at the head of the department. He even maintained that, if it were up to him, the one who would appear this Tuesday before the Permanent Deputation of Congress would be the head of the Executive and not the Minister of Transport, who "would already have been dismissed".
Feijóo's criticisms of Puente's management
Feijóo has assured that the railway accidents have made it clear that "they are not good managers". "But the thing is that I doubt they are good people because this attitude is infamous, cruel, and mean," he pointed out, before asking: "What would Óscar Puente be tweeting if someone else had done this?".
In the 'Génova' leadership, they maintain that the Minister of Transport has become "at that moment" "the number 1 of the PSOE throughout Spain" ahead of the November 29 elections and that they will convey this in the campaign events. "Voting for the PSOE at this time is endorsing Oscar Puente," the same sources emphasize.
Puente --who made his position available to Pedro Sánchez, who considered "it unfair to dismiss him"-- rejected last Friday before journalists resigning over the new railway accident. "My way of being responsible is to face up," he asserted.
Feijóo resumes the agenda after the mourning for Urda
Once the days of mourning for the Urda accident of October 28 had ended, Feijóo resumed this Monday his organizational activity with the convening of the PP National Executive Committee, which was attended by several regional barons such as Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (Castile and León), Fernando López Miras (Murcia) or Juanfran Pérez Llorca (Valencian Community), while other leaders were unable to attend due to prior commitments.
This Tuesday, the PP leader will speak at the Europa Press informative breakfasts and on Wednesday he will take part in a forum organized by the newspaper La Razón. In addition, he has several interviews scheduled in the media.
His first campaign rally after the accident will be on Saturday in Valladolid, where Mañueco and the PP lead candidate for the province, the former Education councillor of Castilla y León María Pardo, are expected to accompany him. On Sunday, Feijóo will travel to the province of Málaga to hold another election event.
The PP boasts of attracting socialist votes
The Galician leader acknowledged this Monday that there is a "leak" of "indignant" votes toward Vox, but stressed that the Popular Party "has gone from less to more" and is managing to add support from abstainers, new voters and social-democratic voters.
In connection with the polls published, Feijóo noted that they show an "electoral record" for the center-right and that the PSOE "has dissolved", highlighting that its initials have been diluted after the agreement with Frente Amplio in the Senate.
In an interview on Telecinco, reported by Europa Press, Feijóo stressed that, although "the polls indicate that there is a leak" of "people" who supported the PP and now want to "vote for Vox" because they are "indignant", his party has obtained the backing of "abstainers" and "new voters".
He added that the PP has managed to get "people who have been trusting" in "Spanish social democracy" to vote for it. "In my opinion, the Popular Party has gone from less to more. I honestly believe that at the ballot box there will be a better result, but there are still many-odd days left and in the end there is a percentage of the vote that is decided in the last week," he exclaimed.
In this context, he stressed that "there is still a lot of campaigning left". "But what I can assure you is that I am not a cardboard figure. I am not here to dance, nor to kiss my partner at a rally. I am here to manage my country. I am here to govern my country," he stressed, claiming his political career.
Transfer of votes from the PSOE to the PP
Sources in the Popular leadership acknowledge that they are capturing votes from the PSOE and that Vox is doing so as well. "It is very complicated to be moderate center and vote for the PSOE now," members of Feijóo's team point out.
According to those same sources, in the first half of October the transfer of support from the PSOE to the PP would have gone from 5.9% to 7.8%, a percentage that, in their view, could continue to increase after what happened in Urda.
In relation to Vox's advance in the polls, PP leaders admit that there are citizens who do not seek a rational vote but rather an emotional one and that, for that reason, they lean toward Santiago Abascal's party.