Is 80 percent support in a unity congress a lot or a little? It clearly shows a relative adhesion when discussing a single candidacy. For comparison, three years ago Ximo Puig, who also faced no opposition, secured 91.4 percent support for his leadership team in Benidorm. Yet consider that fewer than two months earlier there were three contenders aiming to lead the party with internal tremors, and it was the same PSPV that in 2017 presented an alternative to a Generalitat president who is now respectfully remembered as the most applauded as he bids farewell. Given all those conditions, an 80 percent figure reads as a sign of substantial unity.
This can be labeled a united congress with broad backing.
Taking into account the precautions forced by the distance from the Benicàssim complex where the event took place, the overall tone came across as festive. There were no loud public statements against the new leader. There were no delegates brandishing metaphorical knives. No late-night conspiracies. Smiles and hugs, the shared belief in showing unity, stood out more than anything else.
Yet this was also a congress with its share of flat moments. Realistic plans were laid out, where on the surface peace and integration appeared to prevail because change was desired, but the party did not emerge from a catastrophe or a total crisis. Instead it carried a legacy worth recognizing and leveraging. Beneath the surface, however, old frictions persisted in the subcutaneous layers, cells prone to ulceration: due to the management styles, because power ultimately rests in hands reminiscent of the past, and because everything has been preordained to some extent as Ferraz wanted it to unfold.
The congress is about unity, the party comes away intact and dignified, but one wonders whether it would have been better for the rank-and-file to vote, closing debates and mysteries about true power, tutelages, and the legitimacy of any given leadership.
This has been, yes, a congress of unity, but it would be fair to call it modest in its promises. It is true that creating unity is the hardest job, because two rallies and three photos do not build credibility. It requires a credible message, a clear discourse, and a solid strategy. That takes time and precision.
Morant steps forward to confront history: no woman has ever been president of the Generalitat. She carries a meaningful claim she emphasizes whenever possible, aligning herself with the social profile of the Valencian Community, coming from modest origins and climbing through public education, scholarships, and effort.