On May 29, hours after the institutional debacle was confirmed, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, called the general elections with the intention of agitating the left and seeking a mobilization that would give him options to maintain the Government of Spain. Despite the defeat, in the socialist calculations it was expected that the announcements of the PP and Vox pacts and the knowledge of some of the first measures would awaken the progressive voter.
Although it is true that the pre-campaign began with shocks in Calle Génova (headquarters of the PP) due to agreements such as the Valencian one in which the term intra-family violence was used or climate change was not discussed, over the weeks the Valencian PP has been redirecting the situation. Yesterday, the new president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, closed the campaign of the generals in the Valencian Community with a great announcement: the elimination of the Inheritance and Donations Tax. One of the promises of the program with which he won in the regional elections and that allows him to appear before the electorate this Sunday with a commitment already underway.
Despite the initial reluctance of the PSPV to shorten the terms of the investiture, it seems that Mazón has known how to play with the times and with the agreements between different parties to have a stable government tied up and capable of making a first big decision on the last day of the campaign. Despite the fact that it has not been easy (Vox is an uncomfortable partner for the popular ones who are trying to distance themselves from Abascal at the national level), Mazón has managed to lead and patrimonialize the bulk of the electoral campaign.
With some matches at half throttle, after the wear and tear of the regional and municipal elections and the impossibility of holding large events in the middle of summer and with high temperatures, the story of the generals in the Valencian Community has flowed according to the road map of the president of the PP.
And for this, he has not minded showing his waist and seeking agreements with the rest of the parties to form the Les Corts Table (Compromís) or establish the parliamentary calendar (PSPV). Although, perhaps the most important has been the one that has ended up leaving the Valencian left touched and having convinced the independents of the Vall Ens Uneix so that the PP can preside over the Diputación de València, the only institution that the Valencian left opted for after the bad results of 28-M.
The final sprint of the campaign has been very marked by the calendar of the formation of the Government in the Valencian Community. On Thursday of last week, Mazón emerged unscathed from the melee with the opposition in the investiture debate; on Monday he swore in his position and took possession and on Wednesday his councilors did the same.
In fact, on Thursday they already gave some brushstrokes of their first proposals very much aimed at pleasing their constituents – the case of the vice president of Vox with bullfighting or that of Education with multilingualism – and even to mark red lines that give confidence to the voter. The experienced second vice president Susana Camarero did it, making it clear that among the priorities of the new government – ??whatever the extreme right says – will be the fight against gender violence.
Mazón has the so-called ‘honeymoon’ effect that the winners of the elections enjoy the months after their victory. At that point, they enjoy greater political capital, among other things, because they haven’t had time to anger voters.
The polls next Sunday will decide if the new conservative electoral majority is consolidated (as the polls indicate) or if the left, stunned by the 28-M coup, has managed to react. But in a Valencian key, Carlos Mazón has managed to have an unexpected role in the final stretch of the electoral campaign.
