The ongoing renewal within the PSPV opens a fresh front in the Valencian political theater. Just hours after the eurodeputy Inmaculada Rodríguez Piñero announced she would not pursue the candidacy for the upcoming European elections, activity starts to move across the Valencian socialist scene.
This morning, a report from Cadena Ser places the party’s spokesperson in the City Council and deputy mayor in recent years, Sandra Gómez, as a potential candidate for the socialist ticket. At this stage they are only rumors. The party’s official stance, which mirrors reality, is that the list has not been drafted and conversations between Ferraz and the new PSPV general secretary, Diana Morant, have not begun. There is not even a date for the federal committee that would shape the lists.
What has already started are subterranean moves among different party factions to grab a strategic spot: the voice of Valencian socialism in Brussels, which is becoming increasingly influential given Valencian interests at stake and the room to lobby in its favor. And in the figure of Sandra Gómez several key factors converge.
First, the interest of the Pelayo group, the cohort of leaders formed within the Joves PSPV organization, in occupying this position. Then the will of Pedro Sánchez to refresh the electoral banners, along with the experience gained over the years and knowledge of the territory. And finally, the apparent willingness of Gómez herself to distance from Valencian politics after a decade as spokesperson and an aspiring mayoral candidate.
However, at this moment, “everyone could be on the list,” as one senior party official notes. Joan Calabuig, a familiar name in the party’s endless speculation tied to Europe, has been mentioned in recent months as a potential new destination.
Carles Arqués
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Another name circulating is Carles Arqués, the regional secretary for La Ribera Alta and president of the Unión de Europeístas y Federalistas section, highly active in euromunicipalism within the Valencian federation. Alongside Rodríguez-Piñero, Valencian socialists also count two other Brussels representatives, Estrella Durà and Domènec Ruiz Devesa, though they face slim chances. Durà has a clearer path, while Ruiz Devesa could benefit from proximity to Josep Borrell, for whom he has worked as an advisor.
In any case, it should be remembered that the European election slate is a single district for all of Spain. Thus, the position secured by the foremost PSPV representative would signal Morant’s bargaining power with Ferraz in her initial round of talks. In 2019 Rodríguez-Piñero led as the top Valencian and held the fifth slot. The final choice of the candidate or the federation’s selection could also be influenced by gender parity to maintain the cremallera list structure.