Feijóo must clarify what his PP stands for
Deals with Vox in Valencia but not in Extremadura? What is the PP in 2023?
Is the soul of Feijóo's new conservative Popular Party more like PP leader Carlos Mazón in Valencia, favorable to Vox, appointing bullfighters as regional culture minister, putting up statues of virgins in Town Halls, signing political deals in front of churches, and throwing LGTBI and feminist ideologies in the bin, or more like PP leader María Guardiola in Extremadura, closer to the centre-left, the PSOE, supportive of LGTBI rights and against chauvinist violence..? In 2023, Feijóo can’t have both extremes in the same party, especially when the parties on either extreme do each thing better than he does. Beyond "we want all the power for ourselves", PP voters must be confused today, seeing what their leaders are doing at an ideological level in different parts of the country. In May, did they expect their party would do deals with Vox because the most important thing is to get rid of the left, or did they expect moves towards the PSOE and the left because doing deals with the far right is going too far, rhetorically and in terms of proposals and attitudes that are acceptable to all?
Guardiola was clear in her statements yesterday when she broke off talks with Vox in Extremadura, giving a speech that could have come not only from the most centrist part of the PP but straight from the PSOE or even Sumar: "I cannot let those who deny chauvinist violence, those who use the broad brush, those who dehumanise immigrants, and those who unfurl a canvas that throws the LGTBI flag into the rubbish bin, into government”.
What are the PP and Feijóo playing at? Is Vox cool in Valencia and the Balearic Islands but unacceptable in Extremadura or Murcia? What political consistency and trust does that give Spaniards who just entrusted Feijóo’s party with their votes and are now wondering whether or not to do the same at the general election on July 23? Over here, we are getting rid of equality departments because that is what Vox is demanding but over there, we swear we are on women’s side. On Monday night, the PP leader apologised for the violence of a Vox leader in Valencia against his ex-wife 20 years ago by saying that the man had gone through "a tough divorce". Last night, he tweeted that he was all for "the challenges of feminism". Feijóo has to clarify what his PP is, not shape shift as it suits him in each region, hoping no one will notice.
If Feijóo's PP is going to cosy up to Vox, he must disavow Guardiola in Extremadura. If Feijóo's PP wants to move towards the centre or even the left, he must ditch the deal with Vox in Valencia before it is finalised in the regional parliament. A general election is coming. If he doesn’t clear up the confusion before the end of July, which way will how many of his voters jump? What civic values and political philosophies does Feijóo want for all of Spain? What should voters expect from him?
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I think Feijoo wants to have his cake and eat it too: he's going to use Guardiola's stance to negate the impact of the Vox deal in Valencia and hopefully soften the criticism from PSOE candidates. It's not a coherent PP strategy but he can try to say that Valencia was a one-off.
The PP - and perhaps not only they - have been incoherent at regional level for a while. I am very impressed with Juanma Moreno here in Andalucia who "governs for everyone", but he shares the same party with the shrill Libertarian Ayuso in Madrid. And since the Moreno style continues to poll well here, and the Ayuso style polls well in Madrid, I do wonder if it is the PP voters who are the incoherent ones, to the probably despair of Feijoo.