The pre-campaign in the city of Túria has already begun; the accelerator pedal of the municipal race has been pressed in the last week with the excuse - or the symbolism - of the beginning of the new political year. It had been a long time since the permanent campaign had become our daily bread, with politicians making loud or intentional statements in order to challenge and seduce the undecided electorate and with a greater presence in the media. Some parties, such as Compromís, were already carrying out events in key neighborhoods -priorities for their strategy- under the slogan "ViscAValència" (special mention for the communication team, which works wit and wordplay, as we already saw in 2019 with "JoambRibó").
We said that in Valencia the pre-campaign has already started, and you only have to see the movements experienced in the last week to corroborate it: both Sandra Gómez and Joan Ribó have postulated in front of their militancy to be candidates for the 'city hall of Valencia. And the two have done it three days apart (coincidences of life, or not!), exercising internal pressure in one case, and in another sending a message of respite and reassurance to the organic gears of the match
Despite the coincidence in the timing of the announcement of both candidacies, the two leaders have taken this step forward in two different, but very elaborate, ways. Two very hard-working acts, where nothing is accidental. However, there is one point in common, a stamp of identity of the progressive forces of the Valencia City Council, which is seen as a common thread in their presentations to militancy: neighborhood pride (Gómez with the Cabanyal and Ribó with Patraix) and the pride of the city and the transformation that is being carried out.
However, we find strong differences in the staging. Sandra Gómez discovers the pre-campaign image, which is a stamp (she wants to leave a mark, be an important leader), with symbolic images (such as Carmen Alborch, the new Line 10, the river, the neighborhoods...) and with red as corporate color of the party. The message, in Spanish, is clear: "Sandra Gómez represents me". On the contrary, with Joan Ribó we do not see the corporate orange of the party, but the colors of the Senyera, wanting to appeal to all Valencians. It is also interesting to see how, at the time of announcing the candidacy for the party assembly, a video is released on the mayor's networks in which the common thread is the pride of the city that we discussed earlier, and it is quickly shared for official accounts, leadership and militancy. In addition, with the aim of managing to mark the agenda two days in a row, he gives an interview to À Punt with an optimistic tone, of the mayor of all and of embracing the government partners.
There are eight months left until the municipal elections and the machinery of the parties is already working at a rapid pace. From this electoral race we expect communicative innovations, but also proposals, projects, and how to attract an increasingly volatile voter who decides his vote at the last minute. It will also be interesting to see the positions and strategies of other parties to which the polls do not give political representation and their possible alliances. And, of course, the party that the right plays with a brand effect at the state level on the rise. The pre-campaign has already started!
