Diana Morant’s candidacy to lead the PSPV is now official. A few hours before the deadline, the Minister of Science and Universities, and former mayor of Gandía, presented her candidacy this afternoon to try to replace Ximo Puig at the head of the second Spanish socialist federation. She will face the other two candidates with organic power in primaries: the president of the party in Valencia, Carlos Fernández Bielsa, and his counterpart in Alicante, Alejandro Soler. The war for control of the federation has begun.
Diana Morant is the candidate that both Pedro Sánchez and Ximo Puig want. In the presentation of his candidacy, which took place in a square in Gandía, his native town, he cited the President of the Government on several occasions, whom he said “has led the way to fight against the right and the extreme right.” . In her intervention she indicated that “the time has come to ask you, with all humility, but with all strength, to give me permission to go out and win on the right.” She also said that she feels “proud to be part of a government that cares about people’s real problems.”
“Our destiny is to win the 2027 elections. And the way to achieve it is this Community of Militants that we are building,” he said before emphasizing that “I ask you to be brave and follow the mandate of our president, Pedro Sánchez.” He concluded his speech by asking for “permission” from the militancy “to lead you in a battle that we are going to win again.”
The minister was the last to make her candidacy official. On Friday Alejandro Soler did it in Elx, his hometown, and this morning Bielsa did it first thing in the morning, at the PSPV headquarters in Valencia, surrounded by many supporters. The desire of the national leadership of the PSOE was that Diana had no rivals ahead of the extraordinary congress to be held at the end of March. But all the efforts aimed at trying to reach an agreement between Diana Morant and Alejandro Soler, a person also close to Sánchez, have failed.
He will count on important people from Ximo Puig’s entourage for his primary campaign. A priori, it is also the one that can gather significant support in the first round of these primaries, although nothing is decided in a process where the militants will have the last word. Furthermore, this is a federation very given to internal battle and surprise: Diana Morant is going to have to work hard to win.
