The PP learns to live with Carlos Mazón

The PP has learned to live with the uncomfortable figure of Carlos Mazón. The presence of the Valencian president generates suspicion among the PP leaders, as was evident at the congress that elevated Alberto Núñez Feijóo to power, but the party does not want to divert attention in the slightest from the objective set yesterday by its general secretary, Miguel Tellado: "To keep the party active," "to be united and work harder than ever" to win the general elections "whenever they may be." This was a proclamation made by the center-right party's number two in Alicante, Mazón's homeland, whom he barely addressed in his speech.

In the formal greetings, Tellado cited the president of the Generalitat Valenciana as his position and endorsed the Valencian government's work in rebuilding after the tragic flood last October, but in a general and non-personalized manner. "I want to thank the party members and officials who, from the very beginning, were committed to helping" after the flood, he noted.

Tellado urged the People's Party in Alicante to be "the lever for change in Spain."

The Popular Party (PP) is as aware of the deterioration of Mazón's image as it is of the need to improve its electoral prospects in the Valencian Community to ensure, even with Vox, a sufficient majority in a hypothetical general election. The PP is currently working on this, "facing a government in a state of collapse," and is in no hurry to convene the Valencian PP congress, which is long overdue and would inevitably open the debate on Mazón's succession.

Francisco Camps has already begun his internal campaign to try to return to the party's leadership in the autonomous region. However, those in Génova believe the debate over the Consell leader's continued presence is out of the question now, convinced that Pedro Sánchez will push the election button at any moment.

Although some polls show some recovery in Valencia, the PP is far from the numbers of 2023, and the Valencian Community is key for La Moncloa.

Thus, without going into these organizational issues and dismissing any "distraction" that might distract the PP from its electoral objective, Tellado yesterday called on the Valencian PP to be the driving force behind change in Spain. "The Valencian Community has always been a talisman, and the PPV must be the lever for historic change."

For this reason, Feijóo's deputy called on the organization (not Mazón directly, who was listening attentively to the speech) to successfully complete the reconstruction after the flood and "renew and expand the confidence of voters." Although some polls show some recovery of the record in the Valencian Community, expectations are far from the numbers Mazón achieved in 2023, which have allowed him to govern most institutions and municipalities with stability during these two years of legislature. As Tellado pointed out yesterday during his speech before the PP Board of Directors in the province of Alicante, every vote counts, and the PP needs "the machinery fully operational to secure every possible support."

Without the Valencian Community there is no change Carlos Mazón, president of the Generalitat Valenciana

Mazón is also aware of the importance of a good result in Valencia for the PP to reach the Moncloa Palace. "Without the Valencian Community, there is no change," stated the Alicante leader, who encouraged those present to review the election results of the past to support his resounding statement.

A context that gives breathing room to a president who continues to hold on nine months after a catastrophe that claimed the lives of 228 people. It's true that the national PP isn't giving him much encouragement, but it's allowing him to continue, given the complicated months of extreme internal and external pressure the leader of the Consell has had to endure. It also helps that the media spotlight, with the corruption scandals stalking the PSOE, has shifted away from the controversial handling of the Dana.

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Yesterday, Mazón, despite the few personal references, publicly expressed his gratitude to Tellado, one of the people who most supported the Alicante leader in his presentation to journalists. "Thank you for your support. You don't support someone you don't believe in, but you've known us for a long time and you know what we're capable of," he told the PP general secretary. In this regard, the Valencian leader offered no shortage of praise for the Galician leader: "The driving force behind change in the PP is Miguel Tellado. A man from top to bottom, who dresses from the bottom up, who is sincere, who appreciates us, and to whom I will forever be indebted."

Mazón didn't waste the opportunity to assert himself, to highlight his "achievements" during his term, and even to defend his continued leadership of the Generalitat while his party calls for an election in Spain. "Who needs to resign? The one who has a budget, stability, and a reconstruction plan, or the one who neither complies nor governs nor listens?" he declared.