Fans offered words of thanks from the stands, gestures of affection before, during, and after the event, and even a quiet coffee in the company of officials and close allies of both leaders. The conversation had not yet happened, but after a week in which the PSPV’s organic future stirred the ranks, Ximo Puig and Carlos Fernández Bielsa, the PSPV general secretary, and his Valencia counterpart, staged a display aimed at defusing tensions at the party’s 25N gathering this Friday.
“We must acknowledge the work carried out by the Consell and Ximo Puig during the first 25N outside the Generalitat after eight years,” Bielsa stated in his speech. “Thank you, Ximo,” he added, nodding to the former president. What is said and how it is said matters in politics. Also mentioned was the Monday cabinet reshuffle announced by Pedro Sánchez, which keeps Diana Morant as Minister of Science and Universities but does not include the PSPV leader.
The former president’s name had appeared in the chatter, yet remained out of the formal lists, prompting an internal interpretation within the Valencian federation: Ferraz signaled a renewal of Puig’s leadership, along with the implications. This is just one remark, but the possibility of a succession race always creates internal tension among those who aspire to lead. This is a common dynamic in any organization, and the PSPV’s experience makes that clear.
Bielsa could emerge as one of Puig’s potential successors. He and Alejandro Soler, the PSPV leader in Alicante, represent two of the three major currents within the party, alongside Ximism, which currently guides the organization. Both have already joined forces against the current leadership in shaping the 23J lists. The government’s structure has once again brought to the fore a tension that seemed hidden among the party lists, and Puig and Bielsa worked yesterday to extinguish it again.
The two participated in the 25N event together with the Equality heads of the regional and provincial administrations. Puig and Bielsa created a positive atmosphere and rapport. They repeated their cordial gesture at the conclusion of the event, leaving the venue together and sharing a private coffee moment.
Earlier, Bielsa had praised Ximo Puig’s work at the Consell and made two other statements that could carry internal messages. He urged that, despite much noise, attention should not be diverted from what matters and called for a focus on the tasks at hand.
The reference was to addressing sexist violence, but for those present there is a dual reading: the need to concentrate on governing while resisting internal debates. With the prospect of an extraordinary congress still unlikely, there is at least a year left for this process to unfold. And turning attention to the organic issue allows the PSPV to remain unfettered. There is also a symbolic element to staging a de-escalation of tension against the backdrop of 25N, an issue long pressed by the mainstream against Vox.
PSPV leader will attend Sánchez event
The PSPV general secretary Ximo Puig is set to attend a Madrid event with Pedro Sánchez this Sunday, as the Valencian federation mobilizes its members for the gathering led by the government president in Ifema. Beyond those traveling by their own means, twenty buses from the Valencian Community alone are expected to bring more than a thousand people to the capital. The Socialists aim to project unity and support for the newly formed government, planning daily demonstrations throughout November at the party’s national headquarters in Ferraz, amid tensions surrounding the amnesty law and related graffiti and vandalism at PSOE facilities across the country. The party also hopes to assemble senior staff and secure remarks from party president Cristina Narbona and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to lend weight to the event.