The leader of the PSPV and Minister of Science and Universities, Diana Morant, claims to perceive a clear "urge for political change" in the Comunitat Valenciana ahead of the upcoming regional elections. She maintains that the citizens will "punish" at the polls the management that the PP's Consell made of the flood on October 29, 2024, which left 231 dead, and that this episode will become the "definitive blow" for the 'populars'. In this context, she predicts emphatically: "There will be Botànic III".
"There is an opportunity for change in the Comunitat Valenciana. They are going to try to convince us that there isn't, they will be undermining the morale of the progressive electorate every day. It is true that here, for many years, we have asked ourselves: What more do they have to do wrong for us to stop voting for them? Well, I believe that the flood is a definitive blow for the Popular Party, and I think there is an urge for change; I notice it a lot on the street, there is a need for change and we are going to offer ourselves to society for that change".
This is how the socialist candidate for the Presidency of the Generalitat expresses herself in an interview with Europa Press, just a few months before the date with the polls. In the conversation, Morant details the objectives of the PSPV to govern the Consell again four years later, confronts her project with that of the PPCV, and emphasizes the role of Compromís as a priority partner.
The Secretary General of the PSPV emphasizes that her party does not "live off the polls," but rather identifies "what matters to the citizens." However, she points out that the internal studies they handle "say that the PP has lost the street, that their voter is lost in leadership because they have done so poorly that they have felt very abandoned by the PPCV, but also by Feijóo's PP." "This is a very important square for the PP, and they know they are going to lose it," she asserts.
In addition to the management of the flood, she attributes the "weakness" of the PPCV to the concessions made to Vox in the last three years, such as the inclusion of 'national priority' in the latest budgets, or the uncertainty surrounding the 'president' of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, still without official confirmation as a candidate from Génova.
The candidate to become the first woman to preside over the Generalitat claims that "it doesn't matter" who is finally the head of the PP list, because "Pérez Llorca is the 2.0 version of Carlos Mazón" and recalls that 'popular' leaders like Mª José Catalá or Vicent Mompó "were applauding Mazón" on the first anniversary of the dana. "None of them is good enough for us," she emphasizes.
Regarding a possible electoral advance, Morant perceives "an interest from the PPCV in having the elections framed nationally," something she interprets as a sign that "they have done very poorly" and that "Llorca does not want the management of his party, especially that of the dana, to be examined." She assures that she does not fear the comparison between the policies of the central government and those of the Generalitat, but insists that citizens must evaluate each administration by its own actions: "I am not afraid of the policies of the Government being contrasted with those of the Generalitat, but I do believe that people must judge each one by what they have done. And in this case, the Ventorro government has to go to the corner to think."
"We are going to work for 95% of Valencians"
Against the PP model, Morant claims that the PSPV already has the entire structure for the campaign underway, with a political conference planned for September in Alicante where they want to demonstrate that they are "the only ones who can lead real change in the Comunitat Valenciana": "We are going to work for 95% of the citizens, not for that 5% to whom Pérez Llorca lowers taxes, not for that 5% of privileged people who keep public housing, like the freeloaders of Alicante."
She also emphasizes: "I want to be president because I want to exercise the competencies, I do not want to spend all day complaining that Pedro Sánchez is not building housing, when it should be my responsibility, that of the Generalitat. And of course, what I am not going to do is blame immigrants for closing hospital beds in summer, just as it is not their fault that children return in September to classrooms that are not air-conditioned or that are falling apart."
In the field of housing, she accuses the PP Consell of "cowardice" and "populism" for not "proposing solutions" taking advantage of the "legal coverage" of the 2023 Housing Law. In her opinion, "politics is for making decisions, because we are all good enough to make TikTok videos or go to the Moors and Christians."
At the same time, she defends reconciling tourism activity "with people's lives" and reproaches the Valencia City Council for not even "considering the tourist tax that society and the business sector are asking for".
Asked whether she engages in self-criticism regarding the previous Executive of Ximo Puig in coalition with Compromís, Morant admits that "policies need to be renewed", but maintains that "the Botànic line was the right one".
Compromís and the reconstruction of the Botànic
In relation to Compromís, she trusts that both forces will be able to "add up" a sufficient majority to recover the Generalitat, considering that the coalition "is doing very well" in the opposition. "They are bringing many voters who stayed home in 2023 out of their houses, and that is what we have to fight for. I know that Baldoví is on that and, in that sense, there will be Botànic III" (...). Together we are going to do many good things," she predicts.
After emphasizing that she feels "great respect" for Joan Baldoví, she recalls that "before running for the presidency of the Generalitat in 2023, he was a deputy in Madrid". In her view, this demonstrates that "indeed, one can have a political activity defending the interests of Valencians and have the 'Valencian heart'".
When she will leave the Government and her role in the Comunitat
Asked about the moment she will leave the Ministry to fully focus on the candidacy, Morant makes it clear that the decision will not depend on the electoral date nor "will it be made by Pedro Sánchez", but that it will be she who adopts it "of course" along with the president of the Government. She does not offer a specific timeline, but insists that she will do it "putting Valencian interests above all". "And I know that the president is going to support me in that decision," she adds.
Regarding her presence at the institutional event on October 9 in the Generalitat, she confirms that she will participate in the festive day of the Valencians and that she will do so as a candidate, after the celebration of the political conference, something she considers gives her "many hooks". "I don't care about being a minister or not being a minister, I already have my role in the Comunitat Valenciana," she emphasizes.
Remember also that she currently resides in Valencia and that her "priority" is Valencian, defending that she has the "capacity" to reconcile her responsibilities without ceasing to dedicate herself "one hundred percent to the Comunitat Valenciana," as she exemplifies with the Council of Ministers that approved the declaration of an area affected by the fire in the Vall d'Uixó. She adds that she "was" in the negotiations to activate the RED mechanism at Ford Almussafes, although she claims that she does not like to "boast" about it.
When questioned about the electoral defeats of former ministers Pilar Alegría and Mª Jesús Montero in Aragon and Andalusia, she maintains that the reality of those socialist federations is not comparable to that of the PSPV or that of the Comunitat Valenciana, where "people take to the streets in waves against the inhumane politics of the Consell with the dana and cuts in education." "Why is the PP not in those demonstrations?" she asks.
Debate on the 'former presidents'
Finally, in response to Compromís's proposal to eliminate all privileges for the 'former presidents', Morant defends that the current statute helps to prevent "revolving doors" and that those who have presided over the Generalitat have "much to contribute to a country and to a society," citing Ximo Puig as "an asset for the Socialist Party." However, she acknowledges that "everything is debatable" and admits that "there is debate" in cases like that of Zaplana, having been convicted.