The Andalusian PSOE fears the primaries: socialist leaders seek a consensual solution for Juan Espadas to avoid them | Spain

Three weeks after the 41st Federal Congress that was held in Seville, the unknowns about the immediate future of the Andalusian PSOE remain intact. It should be added to the closing of this edition, as when the strict schedules of the newspaper did not wait for news, except for those that deserve it. This Friday, the 420 members of the steering committee, the highest decision-making body between congresses, are convened in Jaén to approve the calendar proposed by the Andalusian executive for its 15th Regional Congress. Juan Francisco Serrano, deputy to the Organization of the federal leadership and one of the unconfirmed names circulating to lead the Andalusian PSOE, is scheduled to attend the Jaén meeting. Serrano (Bédmar, Jaén, 36 years old) is a member of that group for which he is a deputy in Congress.

The signals from Ferraz and Moncloa, which many are waiting for like May rain, have still not arrived because no decision has been made. Several sources assure that “the reflection” and the “listening period” are still open. The questions have been asked for a long time: Should Juan Espadas continue as general secretary and candidate for the Board?; Is Espadas going to be offered what they euphemistically call “a dignified exit”, that is, an institutional promotion, so that he can step aside? Who is the alternative? Is it Juanfran Serrano? Is her name María Jesús Montero? Will there be primaries?

Many leaders from all provinces do answer this last question, but with a wish. “The primaries are the worst thing that can happen to the PSOE of Andalusia,” several sources assure in unison. What they are trying to do is look for a consensual solution in which the majority that promoted Espadas to the general secretary in 2021 and who have been on a different wavelength for some time now participate, and the critics who are subdivided into two groups: the Susanistas and those who still maintains the Sevillian professor Luis Ángel Hierro. That is, only if Espadas presents himself will there be primaries.

The leaders consulted highlight the weakness of not only the Andalusian PSOE, but also the majority of provincial groups. During his mandate, Espadas has relied on the provincial secretaries and they have relied on Espadas, but none of them are on solid ground. Except for those in Seville and Jaén (where there is also a swell), the rest are on pins and needles, and those responsible cannot boast of a resounding majority and find themselves with a demobilized militancy that does not militate, although it continues to pay its dues. The decline began after losing the Andalusian Government in the December 2018 elections, after 37 uninterrupted years in power; but when the Andalusian PSOE hit rock bottom it was after the terrible results in the municipal elections of 2023. That left a scar and many people unemployed.

Several sources consulted assure that the Andalusian PSOE has not yet recovered from the primaries that Susana Díaz lost to Pedro Sánchez in 2017, which caused Díaz to entrench himself in Andalusia with the ambition of building an Andalusian-style PSC. Four years later, and after losing the Andalusian Government, Díaz came second again in the internal elections in June 2021 to elect the candidate for the Board. Juan Espadas won by almost 17 points, a bet by Ferraz and the provincial secretaries. These internal battles caused the losers to stay out of the electoral processes, in a kind of sit-down strike.

These wars left many wounds and are still not healed, maintain Andalusian leaders, which is why they believe that going to a process of collecting endorsements, internal campaign, debates and voting is “madness” as the Andalusian PSOE is, and when In front of him he has a strong Juan Manuel Moreno with hardly any wear and tear. When the PSOE invented the primary process to elect its leaders, the leaders who were there then celebrated it as “the festival of democracy” and even then there were veteran leaders, such as Enrique Linde from Malaga, who warned: “Be careful, the primaries They are pretty, but not good.”

But the Andalusian federation, which has 40,138 members, according to the census used for the federal congress, is not up for partying. “The most appropriate thing is that there aren’t any as the game stands. If there is consensus there should be no problems,” says a prominent mayor. “The primaries lead us to revenge and sitting down,” concludes a provincial leader.

In what is going to happen, the alliance between Seville and Jaén is key, the only provinces that govern in the deputations and that are now also going to add the mayor’s office of Jaén capital after a motion of censure that Espadas, who was not aware of the content, has celebrated the right thing. The PSOE of Seville is where they fear the primaries the most, because if Espadas casts himself it does not seem logical that the main leaders of his group would turn their backs on him. The general secretary of the PSOE of Seville, Javier Fernández de los Ríos, and of Jaén, Paco Reyes, were very lukewarm in the recent federal congress when it came to speaking out in favor of Espadas, although the Sevillian clarified 24 hours later that Espadas counted with his “personal and political commitment” to “the decisions he has to make.” This alliance is maintained as Serrano himself was responsible for highlighting in a photo he uploaded to his social networks.

If there is no agreement, the pre-candidacies will be presented from January 7 to 10 and the votes on February 1. The 15th Regional Congress will be held in Armilla (Granada) on February 22 and 23.