Alejandro Fernández will be the candidate of the PP in the Catalan elections. The national leadership of the PP, with Alberto Núñez Feijóo at the head, officially put an end yesterday to the long debate that has taken place in the party to decide the head of the list for the meeting on May 12. The decision was made public after the meeting of the two leaders on Tuesday in Madrid to finish agreeing on the framework of the campaign. The choice of Alejandro Fernández is the result of many previous reflections, both of an internal and strategic nature. Once the panorama has dissipated, the populists aim to bring together the constitutionalist vote and be a point of reference for the Catalan centre-right.
The national leadership of the PP – which has the competence to designate the number one candidate – announced the decision yesterday morning. In this way, it was highlighted that Alejandro Fernández "had obtained the support of the main political assets" of the party in Catalonia. The leadership of the formation in Madrid had opened an extensive process of consultations since on March 13 the president Pere Aragonès brought forward the elections and took the popular people with a changed foot. The party congress had been postponed until after the European elections, and the relationship of trust between Feijóo and Fernández was still in the process of being rebuilt, strained by some critical considerations of the Catalan leader with the strategy followed with Junts and the defense of dialogue with this formation.
There are many variables that have come into play in this decision, but we must not lose sight of the electoral scenario. The PP has good expectations of growth from the 3 seats it won in 2021 (with Fernández as candidate). The aim is not only to get the remaining Ciutadans vote and recover part of Vox's, but to advance in terms of consolidating an electoral base also with a view to the general elections. The Catalan elections will also shape Spanish politics. The replacement of Alejandro Fernández, considered a politician with discursive ability, could have opened a rough process for training.
In this way, the deliberative process of these days has taken into account a question of trust and the construction of the strategic line that Feijóo draws in the future to move towards the Catalan center, but starting from a firm opposition to independence in the current context. Before the meeting with Feijóo, Alejandro Fernández met on Monday the 18th in Madrid with Carmen Fúnez, deputy secretary of organization, with the intention of getting the debate and subsequent meeting with Feijóo on track.
From the national leadership they pointed out that the objective is "to organize a strong candidacy that allows the recovery of the PP as a reference formation of constitutionalism, given that the PSC has abandoned this framework becoming an essential crutch of independence ".
The popular leader will be in Barcelona today at the meeting of the regional board of directors that must take into consideration the candidate's proposal. At this meeting, Dolors Montserrat, spokesperson for the PPE, will also be appointed president of the campaign committee. A decision that must be read as the search for an internal balance in the party. The MEP has all the confidence of Feijóo and has the support of part of the critical formation with Alejandro Fernández. Montserrat will take the floor today together with Feijóo and the candidate, in a gesture that seeks to convey unity.
The candidate's official communication arrived yesterday after the Catalan PP warned of the need to be able to start the pre-campaign at the pace of the other formations. The national leadership had opened a negotiation process with Ciutadans to integrate this party – without expectations of obtaining representation according to the polls – symbolically in the popular lists. It was also a way for Feijóo to buy time for the decision on the Catalan candidacy. After negotiations were cut short on Friday, a quick pronouncement was unavoidable.
Alejandro Fernández avoided making public statements yesterday, but he did express his gratitude and satisfaction on the X social network. In addition, he also thanked Núñez Feijóo in particular, the party and all those who have supported him "with so much love".
The national electoral committee will ratify in a few days both the candidates of the four provinces and the electoral lists as a whole.
