The intense national politics traveled to the La Toja Forum and the PSOE-PP tension impacted the closure of this space for debate that wants to remain on the sidelines of the battle without fainting that is the Spanish public conversation.. They shared the platform, not at the same time but successively, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition, and Emiliano García-Page, the socialist president most critical of Pedro Sánchez. Feijóo landed in La Toja fresh from an investiture debate in which he did not obtain the votes to be president of the Government. The leader of the PP affirmed that he had “fun” in the debate, was satisfied with the result despite the defeat, and insisted before the Forum audience on the arguments he used in the Congress rostrum for a total censure against the policy. and the figure of Sánchez himself.

“What has changed is not the independence movement, what has changed is the leadership of the PSOE, what has changed is that the PSOE has lost the elections and reacts by assuming the theses of the independence parties”. Assuming an amnesty law, he said, “is not coexistence, it is convenience, it is not opportunity, it is opportunism.”. Feijóo accused Sánchez of “hyperpersonalistic leadership.”

In his opinion, Sánchez has a strategy that consists of launching the lure of an unacceptable referendum to turn the amnesty into a reasonable solution.. “Self-determination is bait for amnesty”. Feijóo reiterated that Sánchez does not have an electoral mandate for an amnesty law, since he presented himself with a program contrary to this grace measure.

The leader of the PP received an unexpected gift in La Toja. The company of Emiliano García-Page, the socialist regional president most critical of Pedro Sánchez. The clarity with which Page expressed himself was music to Feijóo's ears. The socialist leader asked Sánchez for explanations about the negotiations with the Catalan independentists for an amnesty law in exchange for the investiture. “I say what Illa said on July 24, neither amnesty nor self-determination.”

Page warned that the PSOE “has to make clear what the limits are” of the investiture negotiation, with all its consequences. In his opinion, it would be a self-amnesty granted by the Junts and ERC deputies to their party colleagues prosecuted for the 1-O. Page pointed out that he knows Pedro Sánchez well and “he is a person who resists being put in a straitjacket” to govern and a possible amnesty law that would later be annulled by the Constitutional Court would have “immeasurable” effects.

Feijóo agreed with Page that there is no “plurinational” Spain, but rather a “pluriemotional” Spain. But he disagreed that Sánchez was going to establish any limit to grant the amnesty. The president of the PP considers that the most important thing about his frustrated investiture debate is that Spain knows that there is an alternative government to that of Pedro Sánchez subject to “independence blackmail.”

Three regional presidents shared space at the La Toja Forum, Emiliano García-Page, Alfonso Rueda and Fernando Clavijo, who spoke about the health of the Autonomous State. The three, from different parties, shared theses on the need to preserve equality among Spaniards. An issue that is at the center of the debate due to the prospect of an investiture agreement for Pedro Sánchez. Page rejected the claim of a referendum in Catalonia as an insult to the rest of the autonomies. “Some want to have the right to vote only for themselves, on the problems of the Spanish people we all have to vote. When someone wants to decide what they want to be on their own, they are already independent.” In another context, perhaps Page would have stayed to listen to Feijóo. And even to applaud him in a debate forum. In the current situation, it did not seem convenient.

“It shows that you can lose the vote, but win the debate”. This phrase from Cuca Gamarra, general secretary of the PP, summarizes the feelings of the leadership of her party after the attempted investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, which was unsuccessful (172 votes in favor, 177 against and one void), but which his co-religionists left an unbeatable taste in their mouths. The popular ones believe that in the three days of this debate a suggestive project has been made visible for all those who are to the right of Pedro Sánchez. And they consider that they have “widened” the electoral space of the PP, so now they are going to launch themselves into the “reunification” of the center-right, according to various leaders consulted by this newspaper.

“He has consolidated a social leadership that will allow him to win more votes outside Congress” to “reunify the electorate” of the right “in two years,” says one of the main visible faces of the PP.. That is if elections are not held before. In Genoa they say that, after the “unbeatable success” for Feijóo of his interventions in the investiture, the PP is in a position to give a huge bite to the Vox electorate. Either point-blank, with a hypothetical repetition of the elections in January, or in the medium term, when the legislature is exhausted, if Sánchez manages to be installed.

The latter is the scenario with which they work in the PP today, since they estimate that “it will be much more difficult for Sánchez to go to elections after this”, as a veteran deputy pointed out as she left Congress.. It is something that the national leadership shares: “A repeat election would benefit us a lot.”

Furthermore, no one in the front row of the popular party supports Esperanza Aguirre's idea that Feijóo should give some abstentions to Sánchez so that he can carry out his investiture without giving in to the maximum demands of the independentistas.. or to portray yourself. No, in the “active” PP – they clarify in Genoa with vitriolic tint – no one contemplates that Feijóo helps to form an Executive that he does not preside over.

With this determination, the PP's calculations are clear: in the next election there will be up to one million Vox votes at stake, which are likely to end up “returning” to the popular ranks.. That is, a third of the three million ballots obtained by the formation led by Santiago Abascal. «Vox has been left out of the game. “Many people would vote for us now,” says a senior official in the PP leadership, who highlights that this newspaper's survey on the investiture speech already pointed in that direction: it convinced almost 90% of Vox voters.

Furthermore, the CIS already provided conclusive data: 13% of Vox voters would have changed their vote if they had known what the results of 23-J were going to be.. “In addition, Vox has not had the best debate, precisely, it has not been good for them,” another PP leader adds privately.

One million, in the medium term. That is the electoral group that the PP leader wants to fish on the starboard side, but his team believes that there are another 400,000 votes to his left that they have already begun to seduce: “Feijóo has harvested the 400,000 social democrats that we were missing” on the 23rd. J.

Every family'

The analysis, both in Genoa and in the baronies and in the Parliamentary Group, is unequivocally positive. They all agree that if his speeches in this triple investiture session have been of any use to the candidate, it has been to establish an opposition project, contrary to his own career, but with “his homework done” to make the leap towards La Moncloa. in the future. In other words, he has sown to reap “now or soon”, as Feijóo himself often repeats to encourage himself.

The popular ones consider that their president has shielded his leadership for three reasons. The first, because he has managed to seamlessly bring together all the sensitivities of the party around his speech: liberals, moderates, conservatives, Marianistas, Aznaristas, Sorayistas, loose verses…. And this is the first time that has happened since the years of the Aznar Government: “The entire party has been reflected and satisfied”. The second, because he has effectively appealed to the socialist electorate that is suspicious of the amnesty and to the Vox sympathizers who did not trust him due to lack of forcefulness.. And the third, because it has clearly prevailed – always according to the PP version – in the individual duels with the PNV, with Bildu and with Junts, with all its symbolism in tow.

The number two of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, assured this newspaper that “it has been a clearly useful and profitable debate for the Spanish people: they have seen the president that Feijóo is going to be.”. “Now or soon, but it will be,” she also repeats the slogan.

«The consolidation of a very clear leadership has been seen. There is unanimity in the center and on the right that the only alternative government has been consolidated and in a very clear way. Above all, it is the only possible way to maintain the validity of the constitutional pact of '78 as understood by the Popular Party.. «Not only for the center-right, he adds. Many PSOE voters have seen a leader in Feijóo,” emphasizes the general secretary of the most voted party.

Previously, in his speech before the Lower House to close the investiture journey, Gamarra emphasized the clear aspect of oratorical seduction of this parliamentary session. «Feijoo, the PP and Spanish society have won because they have been offered a horizon for the future». “Feijóo offers a suggestive project of life together,” he explained, after highlighting that this is “a reason for hope because an optimistic Spain emerges, that of mutual affection; a majority reality in the face of the secessionist minority.

And he added an appeal to reduce the environmental tension of the Congress of Deputies and politics, in general, prioritizing the “political height from respect, principles and differences” over the blows of effect that in his opinion the PSOE gives: «Nothing is built from mud, only political life gets worse. We experienced that on Tuesday with Óscar Puente's speech and on Thursday at the Madrid City Council, the difference is that Juan Lobato sent him home and Sánchez has allowed Puente to once again be the spokesperson for the PSOE.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo surpasses Pedro Sánchez in the preference of the Spanish people to be the next president of the Government, regardless of the result of the investiture session that was held this week in the Congress of Deputies. Although the result is close, 37.1% of those surveyed prefer that the leader of the Popular Party occupy the presidency, compared to 34.6% who opt for Pedro Sánchez and 23.6% who do not want any of them, according to the survey carried out by Sigma Dos for EL MUNDO based on 2,120 interviews between September 25 and 28.

This represents an important novelty compared to the last installment of the Sigma Dos panel, published on August 28.. Then, Pedro Sánchez was the preferred choice for 39.5% of the population, compared to 33.5% who opted for Alberto Núñez Feijóo.. This change in presidential preferences has a lot to do with the perception of socialist voters themselves.. If a month ago there were only 2.4% of PSOE voters on 23-J who would prefer Feijóo in the Government, during the week of the investiture that percentage has risen to 7%. Feijóo has also improved his perception among Vox voters. At the end of August, only 45% defended him as their desired president. Now that percentage is 52.8%.

Presidential preference varies greatly by age. Among young people between 18 and 29 years old, Sánchez wins -42.3%, compared to the 23.5% who prefer Feijóo-, in the group between 30 and 44 they practically tie -33.5% compared to 33.7%- , but in the upper age groups the leader of the PP clearly dominates, with 41.5% among voters between 45 and 64 years old and 42.4% among those over 65.

However, regardless of their preferences, voters of all parties are more or less clear that the next president of the Government will once again be Pedro Sánchez. 62.8% of the population believes that the socialist leader will end up agreeing with the nationalist parties, despite their demands for an amnesty and referendum, and will continue in Moncloa. Only 22.4% believe that Sánchez cannot be inaugurated, while 14.7% prefer not to answer.

The most optimistic with Sánchez are Sumar's voters. 83.1% are certain that he will repeat the presidency, compared to 74.1% of PSOE voters who trust their leader's options.. On the right, the perception that Sánchez will be inaugurated is the majority in the PP, with 61.8% compared to 25% who believe that he will fail.. And tighter in Vox: 47.3% believe he will be president again and 42.1% think he will not.

However, regardless of who presides over the Government, the attempted investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo has also been read internally.. Two thirds of the Popular Party voters consider that not having carried out the voting does not question the internal leadership of the president of the PP, while 27% consider that it does.. For voters of the rest of the parties, the perception is different, and in accordance with the interventions of their spokespersons in Congress. Both Óscar Puente (PSOE) and Marta Lois (Sumar) focused their speeches on wearing down Feijóo's leadership and this is reflected in their electorates. 76.4% of Sumar voters and 69.1% of PSOE voters believe that the internal power of the PP leader is weakened by not having achieved the investiture.

It is also a majority perception among Vox voters, with 52.8%, compared to 39% who do not think that the sessions in Congress and their results will affect Núñez Feijóo in the internal dynamics of the Popular Party.

The investiture, in any case, has been a good showcase. More than 60% of the population admits to having followed it to a greater or lesser degree. And 38.8% believe that Feijóo has been the best in his interventions, far ahead of the 9.5% who believe it was Abascal and the 6.7% who point to the Socialists' spokesperson, Óscar Puente.