As in 2023, when the demographic forecasts pointed as now that after the general elections there would be a change in the Palace of La Moncloa, it is expected that Pedro Sánchez will seek accommodation on the PSOE lists for the majority of his ministers. Among the unknowns to be cleared up before the Federal Committee approves the final candidacies on October 17 is that of Carlos Corpus, who joined the Government, a month after its constitution, as head of the Economy portfolio and who, like his predecessor in the position, Nadia Calviño, does not have a membership card.
Executive sources consulted by this newspaper explained a few weeks ago that the also first vice president since the departure of María Jesús Montero had "gained weight", but that he was not "turning his cheek", implying that his profile continues to be more technical than political. Even so, those around him emphasize that he is a "team man" and "in favor of contributing", suggesting that he could run for one of the seats in Congress. The most logical move would be for him to be number one for Badajoz, his native province, although the Extremaduran federation indicates that they are still in the process of preparing the ballots.
Another question was whether the ministers who will be candidates in the regional elections of May 2027 would be on the lists for the moment, although in a few months they would have to resign from their minutes, so as not to be left behind if the PSOE cannot reissue the coalition after 29-N. The first to rule herself out was Diana Morant, head of Science and Universities, who wants to focus from the beginning on the pre-campaign of the Valencian Community, the only region in which the socialists have realistic expectations that there will be a turnaround.
Óscar López, head of Digital Transformation, will also be left out. "I have given many thoughts to this issue and I have made a personal decision, also a political one, which is to devote myself to Madrid. All my energies are going to achieve change," Isabel Díaz Ayuso's future rival confirmed this Wednesday in an interview on TVE. In the team of Ángel Víctor Torres (Territorial Policy), in turn, they explain that the decision for him to aspire to be a deputy is Sánchez's, but that in any case his focus is on next year when he will once again run for the Canary Islands Presidency, which he held between 2019 and 2023.
In addition, there will be forced renewal in the starting positions of Seville and Zaragoza after former ministers Montero and Pilar Alegría have confirmed that they will remain leading the opposition in Andalusia and Aragon, respectively, after their failures at the polls. The PSOE also has to change the Navarra list of the last general elections, in which its then Secretary of Organization, Santos Cerdán, was present as number one, now on provisional release accused of criminal organization, bribery and influence peddling for the alleged collection of bribes for the rigging of public awards.
Another of Sánchez's strong men both in Moncloa and in the party is also involved in this same plot, José Luis Ábalos, sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption in the case for which he has already been tried, that of the purchase of masks during the pandemic. These will also be the first elections that the Valencian politician has not attended since 2008.
The director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, accused in the case investigating the woman known as Ferraz's plumber, Leire Díez, will also not appear on the electoral lists again. The veteran former Sevillian leader Francisco Salazar also falls, forced to resign from his institutional and organic positions after complaints of harassment filed against him by two subordinates.
However, the president of Congress, Francina Armengol, will repeat that out of "responsibility" she had renounced running again for the Presidency of the Balearic Islands, since her replacement as the third authority of the State would have been very complex at the moment of greatest parliamentary weakness of the Government. What will not be reproduced is the tension with the national leadership over the names of Aragón after Alegría, close to Sánchez, replaced Javier Lambán - who died in 2025 - as head of the federation, the baron most critical of the ruling party along with Emiliano García-Page from Castile-La Mancha.
