The Popular Party predicts a "very dirty" electoral campaign on the part of the left, especially the PSOE, the first stages of which, it maintains, have already begun to be seen in the weeks prior to the official start. The Popular Party, however, does not shy away from political confrontation and plans to counterattack its rivals by focusing on the scandals that have plagued Pedro Sánchez and his entourage in recent years, while demanding a project focused on proposals to improve the lives of citizens. The popular campaign will have three fundamental pillars: housing and economy, Ceuta and territorial integrity and influencing the cases of corruption that have persecuted Pedro Sánchez and his Executive during the legislature.
Housing has become a window of opportunity for the Executive but the PP is not willing to make it one of the main banners of the campaign. Firstly, because they will reproach Pedro Sánchez's eight years in charge and the measures adopted that they consider insufficient. And, secondly, because they will use the cases that have surrounded the Executive and the socialist environment to maintain that the Government was more aware of other issues than responding to the housing problem. Among them, the case of the alleged PSOE sewers and their "persecution" against the judge who was investigating Sánchez's brother. Furthermore, some popular barons analyze that placing housing at the center of the debate may end up generating discomfort among part of the socialist electorate because "they are attacking a part of their voters who are property owners, a middle class that does not understand what they are doing," they point out in reference to the content of the decree that is expected to be approved by the Permanent Deputation.
It will be one of the issues that will mark the struggle between the two blocs that aspire to govern, but in the PP they assure that they do not fear possible wear and tear. They are clear about their proposals, which Alberto Núñez Feijóo specified in the plan he presented in 2023, and they do not fear any electoral wear because they believe that their electorate is aware of their measures, although during the campaign they will insist on disseminating them. The party leadership considers that the difficulties in accessing housing, aggravated by the rise in prices and the shortage of supply, symbolize the lack of opportunities that, in their opinion, have marked the last years of Pedro Sánchez's Government. Therefore, the objective is to link citizen unrest with the balance of the Executive's management and capitalize on the demand for solutions to one of the problems that leads social concerns. Furthermore, they are aware that housing can become a way to compete for support among both young people and the middle classes, which is why part of their proposals are specifically aimed at these voter profiles.
Beyond housing, the PP assumes that the campaign will be especially angry. Different voices in the group predict that she will be "very hard, mean, mean and ugly"; an appreciation shared by Feijóo himself, who has ordered his ranks to prepare for the counterattack and be alert to the "traps" that, in his opinion, the left will deploy. Polls place the right-wing bloc in a position to achieve a comfortable absolute majority, with PP and Vox above 200 seats. However, the popular ones are unable to substantially improve the 2023 result and the one who soars is Santiago Abascal's team. For this reason, the contest is now settled in the center, among the citizens who voted for Mariano Rajoy, then opted for Albert Rivera and then supported Pedro Sánchez.
The PP sets itself the objective of seducing centrist voters who reject both Pedro Sánchez's management and the corruption scandals that shake their surroundings. In Genoa they consider that there is a decisive part of the votes that can consolidate an alternative majority. This strategy also stops to avoid any clash with Vox. Faced with the exchange of reproaches that occurred during the 2023 campaign, Feijóo and Abascal now maintain a cordial relationship and constant contact, aware that they will have to understand each other to form a future Government and that the only rival to beat is Sánchez. "Let's not forget who our adversaries are" and "let's not let anyone take the wrong target," Feijóo warned his heavyweights on Thursday.
Faced with the "collective amnesia" that, in Feijóo's opinion, the Government is pursuing with a succession of announcements "for eight weeks", the PP has decided to turn the memory of the legislature into an electoral tool. The order transmitted from Genoa is to constantly remember the scandals, controversies and errors attributed to the Executive so that "people vote without forgetting what has happened in recent years," they add. With this objective, the popular party plans to maintain throughout the campaign references to issues such as the Koldo case, the amnesty, the law of only yes is yes, the blackout, Adamuz and the investigations that affect the president's environment, listed from the PP to highlight that there are many issues that can reproach the Executive.
To this end, Feijóo has surrounded the campaign with leaders with very different profiles to try to consolidate both the center vote and that of the more conservative electorate. In the team, especially combative voices coexist, such as those of Ester Muñoz, Alma Ezcurra or Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, with others of a more moderate tone such as that of Borja Sémper. It is about "having people who represent different sensibilities and complement profiles," they argue from Genoa. The popular leadership thus wants to convey the image of a broad party capable of attracting voters with different priorities. Ezcurra's case is paradigmatic: after being part of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's team, he now designs the electoral program with which the PP will compete on 29-N, in addition to coordinating the immigration strategy with force. It is no coincidence either that the first major campaign rally takes place in Madrid this Saturday alongside Ayuso and Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, two of the toughest PP leaders in the confrontation with Sanchismo.
This tenacity will be maintained in the debates in which Feijóo and Ester Muñoz will participate, as announced yesterday by the PP. The popular leader agreed to have a face to face with Sánchez and proposed that it be held on November 16, the first Monday of the electoral campaign. He also agreed to participate in another debate with the candidates of the main parties with parliamentary representation three days before the polls. And Ester Muñoz is willing to attend the debate with the spokespersons of the parliamentary political groups proposed by RTVE for November 23. It is a "fantastic opportunity to confront models between the Spain that is coming and the Spain that is leaving," said Miguel Tellado, PP campaign director.
