The arrival in the ranks of the Navarrese PP of Carlos García Adanero and Sergio Sayas, the wayward deputies of UPN, is only the beginning of the strategy of the popular to fight the regionalists in the municipal elections and the Parliament of Navarra in May. The PP has just incorporated María Kutz and Luis Zarraluqui, two former advisors to the last UPN president, Yolanda Barcina, into its ranks. And they promise more "important" signings from the regionalist ranks.
The president of the PP of Navarra, Javier García, has affirmed that he is "certain" that UPN militants who held important positions during the last regionalist governments, those of Miguel Sanz and Barcina, will take the step of joining the popular ranks. "Its working on that. They are going to come to the Popular Party ”, he pointed out.
García has also indicated that "a significant increase in affiliations is being registered, not only of people from UPN, but of people who come to the headquarters to join." "The Popular Party is the alternative to leading the center right in Navarra, without renouncing our principles, without renouncing our values", he indicated.
In this way, the popular ones demonstrate that, after the fiasco of the Navarra Suma coalition, they are not resigned to a testimonial role in Navarre politics. Its objective is to compete with UPN, historically the most powerful force on the Navarrese right, although in clear decline since the successive governments of change came to power: the one led by the Basque Uxue Barkos in 2015 and the current one, presided over by the socialist Maria Chivite.
Facing the municipal and regional elections of 2019, the Navarrese right opted to coalesce around the Navarra Suma coalition, which united UPN, PP and Ciudadanos. This bet, however, did not achieve the objective of recovering power in the foral community, although it did wrest the mayor's office of Pamplona from EH Bildu.
The legislature was not being easy for Navarra Suma, although the key moment came a year ago, with the vote to validate the labor reform in the Congress of Deputies. Javier Esparza negotiated with the socialist wing of the central government for the support of his two deputies for the validation of the labor reform. In exchange, the Socialists would open a path of understanding with UPN in Navarra, a bet ultimately aimed at recovering the UPN-PSN understanding, isolating the Basques (Geroa Bai) and the independence movement (EH Bildu).
Nothing went as expected. The two regionalist deputies, Sergio Sayas and Carlos Garría Adanero, disobeyed the voting discipline and positioned themselves against the labor reform. Far from being key, his change of sides was sterile, due to the error in the vote of the popular deputy Alberto Casado. If the tensions in UPN were already evident, that day they ended up exploding. And with this the Navarra Suma coalition imploded.
After months of tensions, Javier Esparza announced in December that they would go alone to the May elections. He did it without even consulting his partners, PP and Ciudadanos. The PP's response came weeks later: the popular closed their alliance with Sayas and Adanero. The PP of Navarra presented itself as the "real alternative" to the government of María Chivite, "the only guarantee that there will be no pact with the PSN" to regain power.
In this way, the right will go to the municipal and regional elections in May with four brands: UPN, PP, Ciudadanos and Vox. A record division that minimizes their chances of regaining power in Navarra.
In any case, the PP is not resigned to being a stone guest and obtaining a testimonial result, as had been the case since the rupture between UPN and PP occurred in 2008, which until then functioned, at least at the electoral level, as a only match. He demonstrated it when in January he made public that Adanero will be his candidate in Pamplona, the place where the Navarrese right has the most possibilities, although in a tough fight with EH Bildu. And he has shown it again in recent days, with that determined and self-confident position that is leading him to attract UPN militants.
The PP has little to lose, as it has never been a strong party in Navarra. The bet, however, poses a problem for UPN, which in case of electoral shipwreck will have to face a new journey in the desert.
