Territorial leaders of the PP are launched for Cs charges before May 28, especially in Valencia, Aragon and Asturias

Mazón signs the former parliamentary leader of Cs in the Valencian Community and Azcón opens the doors to the orange mayors in Zaragoza

MADRID, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Territorial leaders of the PP have opened an offensive to incorporate Ciudadanos (CS) positions into their ranks before the municipal and regional elections on May 28, with an eye on the Valencian Community, Aragon and Asturias, regions where the Oranges still retain some power.

Although these days the media focus has been on Madrid and the name of Begoña Villacís, sources from the PP leadership admit that this region is the one that worries the PP the least because its internal data indicates that at this moment Cs would not be represented. In 'Génova' they focus on other places, such as the Valencian Community or Aragon, where Cs can harm the result of the 'popular'.

The PP wants to continue adding positions of Citizens, as they have already done, especially in Andalusia and Madrid. This same week the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, revealed that 166 organic positions of that party have voluntarily transferred to the Popular Party. One of those recent incorporations has been that of Ignacio Gragera as a candidate for the Mayor of Badajoz, a city where he ran for the orange list four years ago.

This same Thursday, the president of the PPCV, Carlos Mazón, has announced the signing of the former spokesperson for Ciudadanos Ruth Merino, for the economic team of the Valencian PP, with a view to the next elections on May 28. Merino, who has resigned from the orange formation, will be an independent, without her going to join the PP.

It is not the only incorporation in this autonomy. In December, Mazón assured that the PP lists are "projects to add and unite efforts under the umbrella of the PPCV" after "signings" such as the mayor of Granja de Rocamora, Javier Mora; or the councilor of Sant Vicent del Raspeig Pachi Pascual, both from Cs.

Then he also thanked the initiative of the Popular Party in Sant Joan d'Alacant for betting on making a joint list with Cs before the May elections, while he valued "the generosity" of the current 'popular' representative of San Juan Manuel Aracil for wanting to have Santiago Román, from Ciudadanos.

Apart from the Valencian Community, more leaders of the PP have launched themselves for leaders of the orange ranks with explicit appeals. The mayor of Zaragoza and candidate for the Presidency of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, did it a few days ago, who praised the "magnificent work" of the Cs councilors and assured that the doors of the PP "are open."

"I have been praising the work of the Cs councilors for years because they have contributed a lot to this project that is changing the city, and therefore, we cannot afford to do without valuable people," Azcón said a few days ago. at a time when there has been speculation about the possibility that his deputy mayor, Sara Fernández (Cs), could switch to the PP.

Last Monday, the president of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, already assured, in line with the open debate with Villacís, that the PP "has open arms to all the people who want to contribute, be they from political formations that are". Also the regional president of the PP of Castilla-La Mancha, Paco Núñez, stressed that same day that the PP "is always open to attracting talent."

In Asturias they have also opened this operation to add talent from Cs. This week, the mayor of Oviedo and candidate for reelection, Alfredo Canteli, has made public his invitation to the first deputy mayor and regional coordinator of Cs in Asturias, Ignacio Cuesta, to be part of his "team" in the next elections .

Along the same lines, the PP candidate for the Presidency of the Principality of Asturias, Diego Canga, has expressed himself, publicly admitting that he welcomes the fact that there are officials or members of Ciudadanos who decide to join the PP project.

"The only thing I can say is to welcome the people who join our project," Canga said last Tuesday, after insisting on the need for the center-right to be united in the May elections.

This collaboration of the PP with charges that were in the orange party is also seen in the Senate. There, a senator who resigned from Ciudadanos in 2021 and kept her seat as an independent, Ruth Goñi, has decided in the last few hours to join a PP initiative in the Upper House and sign her signature along with other 'popular' parliamentarians .

Specifically, Goñi has decided to include his name in the request of the investigation commission that the PP has registered in the Senate on the alleged irregularities of the PSOE of the Valencian Community in the 'Azud case'. The former senator for Ciudadanos signs this initiative along with 24 other 'popular' parliamentarians in a text that bears only the initials of the PP.