Moncloa has the path almost clear for four of the socialist ministers closest to President Pedro Sánchez disembark in their territories and assume command of the federations of the PSOE in Andalusia, Aragon, Madrid and the Valencian Community. This Tuesday, the current leader of the Andalusian socialists, Juan Espadas, announced that he will not compete to revalidate the general secretary in that community, which opens the door for him to be succeeded by the first vice president of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero. And she is not the only member of the hard core of Moncloa who is preparing to assume territorial stripes in the PSOE: Pilar Alegría (Education), Diana Morant (Science) and Óscar López (Public Service) are in the same situation. The four would join Ángel Víctor Torres, holder of the Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory portfolio, who remains general secretary of the Canarian socialists, a position he has held since 2017.
The icing on the cake for this free path that Moncloa has managed to open to place like-minded leaders in the autonomous federations of the PSOE was put on Tuesday by the announcement by the current socialist general secretary in Castilla y León, Luis Tudanca, that he will not compete to continue in his position either. position. The relations between Sánchez and Tudanca had cooled down since the end of last yearwhen Ferraz rejected the primary calendar planned by the Castilian-Leon PSOE and imposed other dates. It was the first sign that the federal leadership wanted to replace the leader at the head of the autonomous federation, and his step back leaves the way clear for the mayor of Soria and provincial secretary, Carlos Martínez, to take over.
The strategy behind this massive landing of ministers at the head of several of the main territorial federations of the PSOE seeks recover at least part of the lost hook for the next electoral cycle and, especially, with a view to the general elections, which if they are not brought forward will take place in 2027. Sources from the Moncloa consider that Montero, Alegría or López are profiles with a greater capacity to boost the vote for the socialists, than in Andalusia or Madrid have been experiencing low hours at the regional level for years.
The step back that Espadas took this Tuesday means that the current leadership of the PSOE of Andalusia assumes that he cannot compete with a candidacy like Montero’ssponsored by Moncloa. Just a month ago, after the federal congress of the PSOE in which Pedro Sánchez was re-elected general secretary, the still leader of the Andalusian socialists assured that he would present himself to run for office again. However, Sánchez then refused to give him his explicit support and, as the weeks went by, the voices critical of Espadas have grown, which has forced the leader to change his position and align himself with Montero, of whom he said—without naming her— waiting a “winning” candidacy with a “new and revulsive approach” to recover the Junta de Andalucía.
For the moment, however, the vice president has not taken a step forward, although she is expected to do so in the coming days. The one who has done it is Professor Luis Ángel Hierrowho already attended the 2021 regional congress in which Juan Espadas prevailed over Susana Díaz for the leadership of the PSOE of Andalusia, on that occasion with the support of the federal apparatus that has now renounced him. Hierro is, for the moment, the only candidate for congress and the only potential rival of the vice president, waiting for Montero to announce that he is also attending congress. For now, the vice president has summoned the PSOE militants of Seville this Wednesday.
The Minister of Education and Minister Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, who a couple of weeks ago announced that she will attend the regional congress to succeed Javier Lambán as head of the PSOE-Aragón, will also have the power to take control of her federation. Like her, the current Secretary of Organization aspires to the general secretary of the Aragonese socialists and Lambán’s number two, Darío Villagrasa, mayor since 2019 of Bujaraloz (Zaragoza) and regional deputy.
Confronted with the current management for years, Joy is Moncloa’s trump card to locate a like-minded leader at the head of the Aragonese federation of socialists, which in recent years has been the main bastion (along with the Castilla-La Mancha led by Emiliano García Page) of the internal opposition to President Pedro Sánchez. In principle, the minister spokesperson is a clear favorite in the fight with Villagrasa, although the current Secretary of Organization of the Aragonese PSOE has the support of Lambanism.
López and Morant, already confirmed
On the contrary, those who have already assured their election at the head of the PSOE regional federations are the ministers of Public Function and Science, Óscar López and Diana Morant, respectively. The first was confirmed a month ago as the next general secretary of the PSOE of the Community of Madrid (PSOE-M) having been the only candidate who presented himself to lead the party in the primary process. His landing, however, was not without controversy, since it occurred after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor, Juan Lobato, who got into a fight with Ferraz (which he ended up losing) when registering a private conversation with an official before a notary. of the Moncloa on the investigation of Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s boyfriend for alleged crimes of tax fraud.
Next to the earthquake that shook the PSOE-M at the beginning of December, the confirmation in mid-December that Morant will continue to be the general secretary of the PSPV-PSOE, the Valencian federation of socialists, went practically unnoticed. Like Lopez, Morant was the only candidate who ran to lead the Valencian socialists, although in her case she will not take office for the first time after the regional congress is held on January 31, but rather she will revalidate it, since she was already elected as leader of the PSPV-PSOE in March of last year to succeed Ximo Puig and after having put together a unity candidacy with those who emerged as his rivals: the general secretaries of the PSOE in Valencia and Alicante, Carlos Fernández Bielsa and Alejandro Soler, respectively.
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