The early elections in Catalonia have revolutionized all the parties, which have rushed to choose their candidates and settle into campaign mode. Carles Puigdemont has organized a conference in the south of France to announce today whether he will present himself as the head of the list for the Catalans, if he will renounce them to go to the Europeans or if he will try to do both. When he clears up this mystery, the PP will remain one of the few parties that still does not know who will be its leader on May 12. The most normal thing would be for it to be the current president of the Catalan PP, Alejandro Fernández: this is how he has run, and even various entities close to the party have signed a manifesto in his favor. But Alberto Núñez Feijóo is not at all clear and has opened a period of reflection to calmly make the best decision.
The pretext for not naming a candidate is the conversations that his party is having with Ciudadanos to try to make an agreement in the European and Catalan elections. Until this negotiation is clarified, Feijóo will not propose a candidate. But the real reason is that the Galician politician has many doubts about Fernández’s suitability and is considering a series of alternative names such as MEP Dolors Montserrat; the mayor of Castelldefels, Manu Reyes; the Congress deputy Nacho Martín Blanco, and even the president of the municipal group in Barcelona, ??Daniel Sirera. And here we stop because the rumor mill is extensive. The PP has until April 2, which is the deadline to present the candidacies, but it is evident that with each passing day Fernández’s option weakens and, if in the end he is chosen, it may give the impression that he is not They have found an alternative.
However, times in politics today are moving very quickly. In the previous Catalan elections, the PSC candidate chosen was Miquel Iceta. but 45 days before the election date he was replaced by Salvador Illa. Or an even more exaggerated case: Jaume Collboni agreed on the PP’s support for his mayoralty minutes before his inauguration, and Sirera consulted Feijóo when the session had already started. With these precedents, the Galician politician can decide the list at the last second.
