© EFE
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Special day for Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Although he denied it, no one has missed the fact that the Conference of Presidents held this Sunday on the island of La Palma has been his grand debut as leader of the oppositionevery time you will not have to go through primaries to be the next president of the PP. In addition, it has been a debut with ‘Feijóo imprint’: all the ‘popular’ barons have defended the same message, except for the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has distanced herself with her own proposal; and there has been an agreement with the Government, from whom it has wrested the commitment to undertake a tax rebate to alleviate the effects of rising energy prices for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Galician president arrived at the appointment with Sánchez and his regional namesakes after having formalized his candidacy to preside over the Popular Party after the fall of Pablo Casado, ‘removed’ by the barons after sowing suspicions of corruption against Ayuso’s entourage. Not having registered any militant plus the necessary guarantees, Feijóo will be proclaimed leader of the ‘popular’ and, therefore, head of the opposition, next April 2 in the congress that will celebrate the conservative formation in Seville.
Despite this, he has continued with his usual prudence. “I am here as president of the Galician autonomous community”, he pointed out in a press conference after the meeting. However, it has been one of his companions who has thrown the argument down. “Feijóo behaves and is recognized as leader of the People’s Party of Spain”, the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, pointed out without qualification. To make matters worse, he has assured that he has noticed how “the rest of the regional leaders, both from autonomous communities governed by nationalists and independentists, as well as socialists” have also given him that treatment of leader of the opposition. Even the journalists present at the Conference, who have sought him out to chat with him and get to know him.”We’ll see you in Madrid“, one of them told him.
But not only the forms have hinted that Feijóo already acts as leader of the PP despite the fact that it is not yet official. And it is that, all the autonomic barons have been located behind him in the messages sent: the defense of a tax reduction towards the sectors most affected by the war in Ukraine and the criticism that the Government would not have presented a “closed” plan to deal with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees.
Everyone, yes, except Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has gained its own profile introducing nuances to those messages and launching a proposal of its own. On taxes, the president of Madrid has not defended a reduction but the suspension thereof. On the proposal, Ayuso has distanced himself by requesting a redirection of the Next Generation European funds -assessed and set by Europe- and the 20,000 million which plans to allocate the Government between 2022 and 2025 to promote feminist public policies “to help families cope with rising prices”.
However, Feijóo has avoided any type of confrontation with the Madrid president, with whom he maintains a good relationship and who will be key in his term as ‘popular’ president. In the appearance before the media, he has supported in their own way the proposal to redirect those 20,000 million in Equality -which, among other purposes, are aimed at paying paternity and maternity leave or subsidizing free public education between 0 and 3 years-.
“We have learned from a note that 20,000 million are going to be allocated to equality policies, we don’t know anymore. At a time when we cannot pay the price of electricity, factories close, boats cannot go fishing and the agricultural sector cannot pay the fuel bill, raise 20,000 million for policies other than reaching End of the month we don’t think it’s right“, he assured. Less benevolent has been another autonomous president of the PP, who has confessed to journalists that he didn’t like it for Ayuso to pull that request out of his sleeve.
A pact with Sánchez, with whom he has spoken
The Galician hand of Feijóo has also been noted in the result of the Conference of Presidents, which has given rise to an unprecedented agreement between all the parties, which is a boost to the President of the Government, with whom the Galician has held a conversation. In this sense, the still president of Galicia has taken advantage of the differences within the coalition between PSOE and United We Can regarding the arms shipment to Ukraine to insist on his “outstretched hand” to Sánchez.
Although he has not been spared in criticizing the Government, yes, a change of tone has been noticed from the popular ranks. “He has not accepted our proposals, but for our part he should not stay”, reflected Feijóo, who has affirmed that the PP “is going to lend a hand”, although he will also “warn” that his proposals They are different. This has also been confirmed by Moreno, who has highlighted the role of “artificer” of the leader in pectore with respect to the signed pact. “Today there has been an agreement on this declaration largely thanks to the fact that he has been on top, has assumed a leading role and has had a will to agree,” concluded the Andalusian president, another of the great architects of the Galician being time yes, unlike 2018, has decided to move to Genoa.