The fight for PSPV’s renewal has so far been about names, which sounds like it’s about power, but there are no project conflicts at the moment. There are no candidacies or preliminary nominations, but three names remain on the table before the national committee for Ximo Puig’s farewell: Minister Diana Morant and state leaders in Alicante and Valencia, Alejandro Soler and Carlos Fernández Bielsa. For now, without going into further details, the debate continues on who will appoint the secretary general. Almost nothing is known about each other’s models. In times of extreme concentration of power in Madrid, there is no talk about whether the PSPV needs a more Valencian approach, whether it should move further left to win votes from Sumar and Compromís, or vice versa. Strengthen the orientation towards the center targeting the vast majority.
There is nothing about this in the discussions so far. What PSPV is dealing with is whether there is a primary election between multiple candidates or whether there is finally integration between the currents, and in whose favor in that case.
For now, the days pass and Morant remains in the shadows while Alejandro Soler maintains his intention to become general secretary. What remains to be seen is whether there will be a change in Ferraz’s attitude, whether he supports the Minister of Science as the only option, whether he will accept another solution as long as it is original and integrates other sensitivities. This is the thesis emanating from the Alicante leader’s circle.
In the last few hours, PSOE Organizing Secretary Santos Cerdán and his team, who coincided with the general assembly of deputies yesterday for anti-crisis decrees, intensified their contacts with PSPV’s “barons” and important figures. as this MP confirms. Soler is an MP and did not miss an important session yesterday, but in the Valencian sector the focus was more on internal renewal.
In this sense, the Alicante secretary had lunch yesterday with another deputy and leader of the party, José Luis Ábalos. This is also a way to show your strength. The former Organizing Secretary of the PSOE represents a historic sector that has lost members in recent years but has retained its image, influence and contact capacity. This group has shown itself on Soler’s side in recent months and continues to see in this “decision” the “will” to present itself and integrate the rest. At the same time, signs of complicity and the possibility of collusion continue to show in the orbits of the Alicante leader and Valencia’s Bielsa. There is “good harmony” and consensus on the basic issues, which was emphasized in the meeting held yesterday by the Mayor of Mislata. He had an event yesterday that included a photo with Puig, but according to some, there was no dialogue about the convention.
What about Diana Morant? At least until the congress calendar is activated, it does not move away from the area of caution that Pedro Sánchez would like. But those next to him (the sector closest to Puig) remained in the shadows. On the contrary, they made a show of power by showing the regional versatility of their preferences.
So, at the UGT headquarters in Valencia, they organized a meeting with leading figures of the Valencian Community, from Government delegate and PSPV number two Pilar Bernabé to party leaders from the leader in the capital, Sandra Gómez. Notable representatives such as Soler (senior Ángel Franco; mayor of Alcoy, Toni Francés or Toñi Serna, right-hand man of Leire Pajín) and Samuel Falomir, provincial secretary in Castellón, and mayor of Vall d’ Uixó, Tania Baños. Calculations for this sector are that it will bring together about half of the militancy in Valencia and Alicante and the vast majority in Castellón. These are calculations.
This could be interpreted as a nudge for Morant to enter the arena, though he is not the only candidate. This is the big unknown that needs to be solved, and it seems difficult to clarify before the executive branch begins the process in Congress next Monday.