Feijóo admits that he has not met "expectations" and opens contacts with PNV, UPN, Vox and CC: "I am not going to resign"

"We cannot allow our country to become balkanized", he proclaims before the PP Board of Directors, which receives him with applause

The leader of the PP and candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has admitted this Monday that the PP has not reached its "expectations" in the general elections, but has stressed that it is the winning party and, therefore, it is its "responsibility" to lead the talks to try to form a government. For this reason, he has informed the staff of his formation that he has opened contacts with PNV, UPN, Vox and Coalición Canaria.

"I am not going to give up on achieving it," Feijóo declared in his speech before the National Board of Directors of the PP, a few hours after the bitter victory of the party, which has won the elections with 136 seats and 33.05% of the votes but the socialist Pedro Sánchez has more options to carry out the investiture if he achieves the abstention of Junts.

Feijóo, who has received a long standing ovation from the PP staff before beginning his speech, has stated that they are "extremely honored by the indisputable electoral victory" that they have achieved and has stressed that their "duty" and "historical responsibility" of the PP is to lead the talks to form a government in Spain.

Having said this, he stressed that, since the PP has won the elections, since this morning it has maintained contacts with different political forces with the aim of "achieving a stable government in Spain in the coming weeks".

Specifically, and after contact last night with the Socialist Party "at the request of its candidate", he has reported that both have "arranged to talk" once the final scrutiny of the CERA vote was known. However, from Ferraz they have removed the possibility of an immediate meeting and refer to September.

In addition, Feijóo has indicated that the leader of UPN, Javier Esparza, has "already confirmed his support for a hypothetical investiture", while adding that with the president of the Canary Islands Coalition, Fernando Clavijo, "the path has been opened for the same effect".

The leader of the 'popular' has reported that "there has already been a contact with the president of the PNV", Andoni Ortuzar, who hopes to "expand" in the coming days. "I have also spoken with the president of Vox and in the same way we have agreed to continue the conversations throughout the week also with the question of whether or not he is willing to support a change in the Sanchista government," he said. PP sources have indicated that contacts will continue in the coming days but in a discreet manner.

After assuring that the "political moment requires height of vision and sense of State", the 'popular' candidate has highlighted that Spain "needs a change", "a new time", "moderation and understanding in the Government". "He needs to not depend on radical minorities, nor on independentists," he asserted.

Having said this, he stressed that Spain "cannot afford counter alliances or blockades" and added that the polls have told them that they have to "break the political blocs with agreements." "The Spanish cannot be trapped, neither in blocks, nor in blockades, nor allow our country to become Balkanized," he stressed.

HE PRESUMES A "UNITED" AND "RECOVERED" PP AFTER THE INTERNAL CRISIS

Feijóo, who has thanked his party and the 8 million Spaniards who have voted for them, recalled that a year ago "a party in crisis, with fewer mayors and regional presidents" met in the same room than today. However, he has said that today the PP is a "different" party because it is "united" and "recovered", being "again the first party in Spain".

Having said this, he has indicated that these months he has publicly conveyed that he would "always tell the truth" both to the country and to the PP, "be it sweet or bitter". And despite the fact that the PP has grown three million votes and has 47 more seats than in 2019, as well as a key majority in the Senate, with the "greatest growth in votes" in the party's history, it has admitted that they have not reached "expectations". In the campaign, the leadership of the PP pointed out that they could exceed 150 seats.

"With the same intensity that the polls failed, we have not reached all our expectations. I do not regret demanding to win by a lot compared to those who are satisfied with losing by less," he exclaimed, limiting his self-criticism to this reasoning.

In light of the electoral result, Feijóo has drawn "three possible scenarios": The first, that the one who has won the elections, the PP, is allowed to govern, as has been done in the constitutional democratic history of Spain; the second, the blockade; and the third, an alternative majority with "the explicit or tacit support" of the "populist parties and, of course, the pro-independence parties."

As he did last night from the balcony of Genoa, he pointed out that in the democratic history of Spain "the party that has won the elections has always formed the government." "There will be other parties that have won their expectations, but have lost the elections," he added.

After assuring that the PP has more votes and more seats than the PSOE and a "fundamental absolute majority in the Senate", Feijóo has advanced that he will not be "hostage" to anyone's will, "not even the socialist candidate".

IF SÁNCHEZ DOES NOT ACCEPT DIALOGUE, HE WILL EXPLORE ALL WAYS

Thus, the president of the 'populares' has indicated that if Pedro Sánchez "does not accept dialogue with the Popular Party", his formation will explore "all the ways to provide Spain with a government and do it as soon as possible".

"I do it because I believe that the blockade is an undesirable scenario for our country, at a time when we hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union," he added, to underline that the electoral result allows the launch of a legislature and a Government.

Feijóo has warned what the option of a "coalition of losers, with even greater demands and the presence of the independentistas" would be like, something that, in his opinion, would be "an implantable scenario."

"Sánchez would need more parties than ever to achieve his investiture. He would need Bildu and ERC, who have already announced that they would raise the price for support for the Government and would need the contest of a party led by a fugitive from Spanish Justice", he emphasized, alluding to Carles Puigdemont.

The PP leader considers that "it does not seem logical or conceivable that at a time of the rise of the large state parties", given that the national parties add up to "322 deputies" and "independence has much less weight than in the previous legislature", Sánchez could "offer him more power and decision-making capacity than ever to condition the Government, erode the institutions and advance the bankruptcy of the nation."

"Spain needs a government with the capacity to face the economic uncertainties that we have on the horizon, with the capacity to address the necessary State reforms in matters such as regional financing, water, pensions, the demographic challenge, health, and cleaning up our public accounts", he explained.