'Génova' admits that there is no "rush" for the Catalan PP congress while setting a date for those of Asturias and the Basque Country

After the differences between Alejandro Fernández and Feijóo's team, some voices ask for calm to try to redirect the situation

MADRID, 14 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The national leadership of the PP has admitted that there is "no rush" to set a date for the party congress in Catalonia, which held its last conclave in November 2018, especially when the Catalan regional elections are not scheduled until the beginning of 2025, unless the republican Pere Aragonès decides to bring them forward. Meanwhile, 'Génova' has activated the regional congress of the Basque PP, which will take place on November 4, and that of the Asturian PP, which will be officially convened next Wednesday.

In the ranks of the PP they admit that a PP congress in Catalonia at this time is "suicidal" given the level of confrontation and the internal currents within the party itself. For this reason, they consider that the most appropriate thing is to redirect the broken bridges to try, as far as possible, a unity congress. "If you go to a congress with two candidates, the party splits in two," warn sources familiar with the situation of the party in Catalonia.

In this scenario, the PP leadership acknowledges to Europa Press that there is "no rush" to set a date for the Catalan conclave. "It is not on the horizon," they say from Feijóo's team. Furthermore, they decline to confirm whether they already have a possible candidate in mind to replace the current president of the PPC, Alejandro Fernández. Names such as the mayor of Castelldefels, Manu Reyes, or the PP spokesperson in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, have appeared in the pools.

The contacts of the PP with Junts before the investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo publicly visualized the fight between 'Génova' and Fernández, differences that have been accentuated in recent months and that have led many party officials to assume that there will be replacement at the head of the PPC.

However, Feijóo and Fernández posed together last Sunday at the demonstration against the amnesty called by the Catalan Civil Society (SCC). Some sources close to Fernández are committed to building bridges to redirect the situation, especially when they believe that there is a "turn" by Feijóo towards the former's theses regarding the discourse that must be made in Catalonia.

Meanwhile, the PP leadership has decided to unblock other pending congressional processes. Thus, the conclave in Euskadi has already been set for November 4 and, predictably, the person chosen to replace Carlos Iturgaiz will be the former delegate of the Government Javier de Andrés.

Feijóo himself has defined De Andrés as "a good candidate" for his traceability and having won elections. And it already has the endorsement of relevant leaders and members of the Basque PP, such as the former minister and former president of the Basque PP, Alfonso Alonso, the deputy secretary of Culture and Open Society of the formation, Borja Sémper, or the president of the PP of Álava, Iñaki Oyarzabal.

At the same time, the PP of Asturias has convened its Autonomous Board of Directors next Wednesday, October 18, to approve the date of what will be its 18th Autonomous Congress. Shortly after learning of this step, the former PP candidate in the regional elections, Diego Canga, announced his resignation as a deputy in the General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias, alleging "strictly personal reasons." "The party is in good hands with you at the helm," he wrote in a farewell letter to Álvaro Queipo, current general secretary of the Asturian PP.

The PP has not held a congress in Asturias for more than six years. The last one took place on March 18, 2017, when the members re-elected Mercedes Fernández, current national deputy known as 'Cherines', as president. However, when Pablo Casado became President of the PP in July 2018, he opted for Teresa Mallada, former president of the public company Hunosa, as the candidate of the PP of Asturias. Months later, Fernández would resign as president of the Asturian PP and be elected senator.

In turn, a few months after Feijóo arrived in Genoa, Mallada announced that he was taking a step aside and confirmed that he had made that decision after speaking with the national president, with the aim of jointly seeking the best solution for the future of the PP in Asturias.

Last December, Feijóo surprised by betting on Diego Canga, a former high-ranking official of the European Commission, as the PP candidate for the Presidency of the Principality. Although the 'popular' gained seven seats in those elections, they finally failed to take the Government from the socialists Adrián Barbón. About four months after those elections, Canga has decided to end his political career in the Principality.

La Rioja is another of the autonomies in which the PP has suffered internal confrontations. As in Asturias, 'Génova' chose to promote a candidate, in this case Gonzalo Capellán, who has managed to wrest the regional government from the socialist Concha Adreu.

It is expected that Capellán will be the one to take charge of the party after his victory in the regional elections and the current bicephaly in the Rioja PP will not be maintained, since Alberto Galiana now holds the presidency of the party. However, at the moment there is no date for that conclave.