The PP of Madrid, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has communicated this week to several of its mayors that they will not be the party's candidates in the municipal elections on May 28 and is preparing to announce their replacements this month.
The councilors of Pozuelo, Susana Pérez Quislant; Majadahonda; Jose Luis Alvarez Ustarroz; Villaviciosa de Odón, Raúl Martín; and Colmenar Viejo, Jorge García, have received communication that they will not run in the elections as the head of the list in their cities, according to 'popular' sources.
The party has spent months communicating drop by drop to the candidates of the municipalities where it is in opposition. The first round, which included many of the large towns in the region, was announced before the summer so that those appointed would have the chance to "step on the street" in months in which, among other events, most of the the festivities.
After several announcements, in February the appointment of the candidates for the 87 municipalities where he does not govern was completed. The PP has installed billboards, labeled buses and pasted posters in many of these municipalities with photos of those designated together with the president so that they began to be recognized by their neighbors.
To these names is added the confirmation in February, by the National Directorate, of the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida. The regional PP has delayed the decision in the municipalities where it governs for months to avoid discomfort among some of the current councilors who would not continue, which has generated months of uncertainty and doubts, especially among those who supported the former president of the PP Pablo Casado during the internal battle with the president.
In the case of Pozuelo, it was practically taken for granted that Pérez Quislant, close to Casado and not in tune with the new regional leadership, would not continue in office. "After twelve years in the Pozuelo City Council, eight as mayoress, I end this cycle. Public offices are not for life, stages must be closed and new challenges sought. Thank you PP of Madrid for trusting me and the neighbors for their love Now I will continue to be available to my party as always," she said on social networks.
For the city, one of the strongholds of the PP, the name of the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, current president of the party in Pozuelo, has sounded strongly as a substitute. Escudero, one of the advisors to the Ayuso Executive with the greatest knowledge by the public, has been in charge of leading the management of the pandemic and right now his department is negotiating with the unions for the strike that affects the region.
The decision that the candidate is Escudero has not yet been made. For the moment, publicly, he avoids taking the step and limits himself to saying that the Madrid president has not yet proposed it and that he is focused on health management.
Regarding Majadahonda, Ustarroz positioned himself more if possible in favor of Casado and the former general secretary of the Madrid PP, Ana Camíns, from the outset. In October 2021, the PP of Madrid split in two in a board of directors: some demanded the urgent convocation of the regional congress that would raise Ayuso to the presidency, while others defended respecting the times of the then national leadership.
According to 'popular' sources transferred to the media at the time, the mayor of this municipality was one of the first to speak to defend the thesis contrary to the supporters of the Madrid leader.
"The PP of Madrid has informed me that I will not be the next candidate for mayor of Majadahonda. Majadahonda is a municipality that has suffered a lot and that had some important problems. Many of them have been resolved. Others are on the way and will soon have a solution ", the mayor transferred in his networks.
Added to this departures is that of the councilors of Villaviciosa de Odón and Colmenar Viejo. The councilor of the latter municipality publicly requested months ago that out-of-hospital emergencies have a doctor and not video consultation, at a time when the strategy of the Madrid government was the opposite.
In the free places, some of the directors of the Madrid Executive could fall, which is taken for granted that they will leave after May 28. With the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and the Interior, Enrique López, outside the party (he resigned from militancy in February), the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, David Pérez, and the Minister of Local Administration and Digitalization, Carlos Izquierdo, are ringing.
Other municipalities where the unknown is installed is in Las Rozas (José de la Uz) and in Boadilla del Monte (Javier Úbeda). The first of the councilors, despite being close to former President Casado, has been seen at various events with the Madrid president and, in fact, one of the popular conferences was held in this town with De la Uz as host.
From the party they plan to announce the designated ones this same month of March, after having delayed more than they thought at the beginning of the decision. With the square puzzle, the PP wants to forcefully start the electoral machinery after Easter.
