The closure of the lists increases the tension between territorial leaders and Sánchez

The forecast that on Saturday the federal committee of the PSOE will discuss peacefully, to ratify all the candidates for Congress and the Senate in the elections of 23-J, was seriously compromised on Friday afternoon. The last-minute changes that the federal committee of Ferraz lists wanted to introduce in some poster headers caused several territorial socialist leaders, critical or similar to Pedro Sánchez, to sound the alarm, take control and not give in. “We will not pass through here”, they assured.

The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, very distant from Sánchez and the only socialist regional president who revalidated the absolute majority on May 28, was one of them. And finally, he got away with it.

The socialist federation approved that the candidacy for Congress for Toledo be headed by its number two and secretary of organization, Sergio Gutiérrez. But Ferraz wanted to relegate him to the second position – from which it is also thought that he will be a starting point -, so that the list was led by the still mayor of Toledo Milagros Tolón, who despite winning the elections of 28- M now will be displaced by a majority of the PP and Vox. Tolón is, on the other hand, a leader very close to Sánchez and, in fact, is the president of the PSOE’s federal committee.

The federation led by Page immediately expressed their absolute displeasure: “Ferraz is changing the lists through impositions and, from what many of us interpret, as personal whims”, they denounced. And they threatened that Saturday’s federal committee “will not be as peaceful as it should be.” Page was very willing to “defend the interests” of his federation at the meeting. The storm threat was clear. And justified, they claimed: “The lists were unanimously approved by the provincial committee, with more than 300 attendees from the province of Toledo representing 90% of the local groups”.

In view of the struggle raised by Page, Ferraz corrected the decision. Finally, Sergio Gutiérrez will be number one for Toledo in Congress, and Milagros Tolón number two. “I appreciate the cordial dialogue with the federal leadership of the PSOE to clarify an error regarding the head of the list of the candidacy for Toledo,” Page himself later quipped.

But other socialist federations also showed notable irritation at the changes imposed by Ferraz. The other regional president of the PSOE most critical of Sánchez is the Aragonese Javier Lambán. Unlike Page, however, Lambán will be evicted from the regional presidency as a result of 28- M. But, in his case, moreover, it rained on wet.

Lambán already wanted to state this week the opposition to Pedro Sánchez’s decision to place the Minister of Education and spokesperson for the Ferraz executive, Pilar Alegría, at the head of the electoral list in Congress for Zaragoza, despite the fact that in this federation the chosen one was Óscar Galeano. Lambán, even so, gave in and assumed the imposition of Alegría, which forced Galeano to be number two on the Zaragoza grid.

But the federal commission of lists yesterday also altered this arrangement and placed Susana Sumelzo as number two candidate, another leader who was very close to Sánchez when she was placed in the “no is no” at the investiture of Mariano Rajoy and was finally defenestered by the PSOE establishment. Despite the discomfort expressed, in this case Ferraz maintained the decision and Sumelzo will accompany Alegría as an electoral ticket for Zaragoza.

Another federation affected by the changes imposed by Ferraz was that of Castilla y León, led by Luis Tudanca, who, on the other hand, is very close to Pedro Sánchez, as is the current mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente. In this case, Ferraz imposed his electoral action secretary, Javier Izquierdo, as number one on the Senate list for Valladolid, instead of Sara Galván. And also Manuel Arribas – who in this territory is linked to the scandal of the Tito Berni case – for the Congress for Ávila, instead of the proposal for the territory, which was Yolanda Vázquez.

Ferraz also corrected the list proposed by Ximo Puig, who in turn had modified the proposals of the provincial leaders of Valencia and Alicante, Carlos Fernández Bielsa and Alejandro Soler. Puig, who will not revalidate the presidency of the Valencian Community either, nominated Alfred Boix and Antonia Moreno as number one for the Senate for Valencia and Alicante, but Ferraz imposed and Ana Martínez Zaragoza.

The PSOE’s federal committee plans to definitively approve all the candidacies on Saturday, in an appointment that will not be as peaceful as expected and that will not approve the electoral program, as was initially planned, since it will delegate it to the Ferraz executive.