The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has conveyed to the leaders of his party that, in the "decisive weeks" remaining until the general elections on November 29, the goal is to "convince" the "disappointed" with the government of Pedro Sánchez and those who are "angry." To this end, he has called for total mobilization of the party in all territories of Spain.
"What we need to do now is work. Work to the max, travel across Spain, listen, explain, respond, convince, and finally win democratically in the upcoming elections," Feijóo proclaimed before the National Executive Board of the PP, which has approved the campaign committee led by the secretary general, Miguel Tellado.
This call to engage in reaching every corner of the country has been reiterated behind closed doors, both in the Executive Board itself and at the lunch with his 'barons' — to which Alfonso Rueda, María Guardiola, or Jorge Azcón did not attend, due to scheduling issues — where he defended the importance of maintaining a discourse aligned with 'Génova', according to territorial sources from the PP.
Warnings of a "very dirty" campaign
Several regional presidents of the PP anticipate a "very dirty" campaign from the PSOE and point to the case of Maricarmen Abascal — the elderly woman who passed away this Wednesday, two days after being evicted from her home in the Madrid neighborhood of Retiro — as an example, which, according to 'popular' sources, the left intends to turn into a symbol of their electoral offensive.
Various 'barons' agree that trying to elevate Maricarmen as a symbol of the campaign now is "despicable." "You have to have very low morals to use the death of a person to campaign," states a PP president privately. "All political and personal limits have been surpassed," adds another leader.
One of those regional presidents believes that the case of Maricarmen could activate the leftist electorate ahead of November 29, but at the same time, warns that Sánchez's discourse on housing is "dangerous" because it impacts the middle class and generates concern among those who own a home.
Sources from Feijóo's team express themselves in similar terms. "How must the left be for them to trust Maricarmen more than Sánchez for the comeback!" they exclaim. In their opinion, emotionally exploiting this episode as a bargaining chip for their "political survival" evidences the "weakness" of the left before the general elections.
In any case, in 'Génova' they declare themselves willing to confront the PSOE on the housing issue to expose Pedro Sánchez, since, as sources from the PP emphasize, during his years in La Moncloa there have been "more than 270,000 evictions".
Feijóo demands not to give any vote for lost
In his public intervention before the party leadership, Feijóo has assured that Spain has "finally the opportunity to open a new time" and has appealed for a deep and necessary change that, he said, is not limited to replacing a Government, but to "reconstructing Spain and projecting it towards the future".
"Finally, the Spaniards will be able to speak, opine, and decide what they want to change and what country they want to build," he emphasized, to underline that "the only thing that is celebrated is that finally" they can go to the polls, "nothing more".
Feijóo has pointed out that he knows what "common sense" and "logic" dictate and that he knows what the street thinks because he "walks on it" and can "walk it," in a veiled allusion to Pedro Sánchez. "But elections are not won by the environment, nor are they won by polls. Elections are won person to person, vote to vote, and they are won on the day of voting".
For that reason, he has emphasized that "until the last polling station is closed" they cannot give "any election for won". "And here we also do not give any vote for lost," the leader of the 'populars' has reiterated.
In this context, Feijóo has admitted that the PP has "arguments to convince a lot of people," from those who have supported them "always" to those who "have stopped doing so," "those who are disappointed with this Government and this policy," "those who are angry," "those who seek hope or those who only want Spain to function normally".
"We must address all of them. And we must do it with respect, with humility, with a project, with an idea of nation, and that is what we are going to do," he indicated, insisting that the Popular Party comes to the general elections with the aspiration to win them.
At this point, he has urged the PP leaders to "give it their all" so that citizens can affirm on the 29th that "finally" there is "change" in Spain. "Let no one confuse our excitement with excessive confidence, our strength with arrogance, and our eagerness with haste," he added.
"The PP is not going to lower its head"
Feijóo has predicted "maneuvers" from the PSOE during the campaign, alluding again to what happened with housing after the death of Maricarmen, the octogenarian evicted two weeks ago. For this reason, he has asked his people not to fall into "traps" and to dismantle "every deception" by resorting to "the truth."
"The maneuvers are coming, the last-minute promises are coming, the use of institutions for their service is coming, the noise to cover up the balance is coming, and fear will come. They will try to generate it, they always do," he warned.
However, he emphasized that the PSOE must accept that the PP "is not going to lower its head" and that they are not going to "let anything pass." "Neither big nor small, not one. We are not going to play their game, we are not going to fall into their traps, we are going to tell the truth to the people. That idea that they are above good and evil is over," he emphasized, adding that it is also over "distributing democrat cards" or "feeling impune."
Remember that "they have stolen with both hands"
According to Feijóo, the PSOE's tactic is based on promoting "collective amnesia." "They want Spain to forget, they want eight weeks of announcements to cover up eight weeks of facts. Well, we are going to remember everything," he stated.
In that line, he maintained that they must remember that "they have abused power, that they have stolen with both hands, they have lied, they have auctioned off equality, they have governed without budgets, they have lost control of the borders, they have surrendered to regimes of other countries" and "they have been incompetent."
To close his speech, Feijóo again appealed for mobilization and called on his people to face the campaign "excited," but "no euphoria." "I want all of you activated. All of you. From the first to the last. From the regional president to the member who has just arrived. From the mayor of the big city to the councilor of the opposition in the smallest town. Listening and giving answers to what Spain wants," he demanded.