The challenge launched by the provincial committee of the PSOE of Huesca, which last week asked to begin the procedures to replace Javier Lambán at the head of the party in Aragon, has not found an echo in the national leadership in Madrid.
This Monday, the socialist spokesperson, Esther Peña, avoided supporting the request of the Huesca federation and rejected “interference” from the federal Executive on this matter. Before the media, Peña stressed the “respect for the autonomy of the territories” and asked that this conflict be resolved “at the local level” by the Aragonese “comrades” “in accordance with the regulations and when they consider it appropriate to carry out their processes.”
The clash began a week ago, when the Upper Aragonese PSOE, Ferraz’s main support in Aragon, urged not to waste “not one more minute” in the search for a new “strong leadership” that “does not insist on confrontations” and that strengthens the socialist project in the community ahead of the 2027 elections.
It was a full-fledged attack on Javier Lambán, one of the socialist barons most critical of Pedro Sánchez. General secretary of the party in Aragon since 20212, the former Aragonese president already announced after his defeat in the May elections that he did not plan to attend the primaries scheduled for 2025 to lead the party, although he has not pointed out a possible successor.
For now, Lambán has the “unwavering” support of the federations of Zaragoza and Teruel, who told his colleagues in the north that this is not the time to get involved in “deeply inappropriate and irresponsible” internal disputes.
After a few days in silence, Lambán himself reappeared on Sunday at an event in defense of democratic memory held in Alcañiz (Teruel), where he also called the Huesca federation “irresponsible.”
“I ask for your patience, because I have already announced that I am not going to continue and we do not have to rush things,” said the still leader of the Aragonese socialists, for whom this request comes at a time when his party is going through a “very difficult” situation. ” due to the poor results in Galicia and the long shadow of the ‘Koldo case’. “Everything comes in this life,” he said ironically about his future replacement.
Regarding who will occupy his position, he still does not give names, but he took the opportunity to send a message to the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría, a priori favorite of the Huesca federation. “Several men and women worthy of succeeding me in the general secretary come to mind, especially those who are here. Those who are outside already decided at the time that they were leaving, good luck to them,” she stated.
With its words today, the national leadership seems to choose, at least publicly, to maintain its neutrality for now and not accelerate the retirement process of one of the most fractious internal voices of recent times.
