Feijóo Plans Three Catalan Visits, Sánchez One, Before Nov. 29 Vote

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Partido Popular (PP, Spain’s main center-right opposition party), will give Catalonia a prominent place in his campaign for the Nov. 29 general election, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans only one appearance there, according to elDiario.es.

Feijóo opens his campaign on Thursday in Badalona with Xavier García Albiol, the PP’s candidate and the city’s mayor. He is due back in Catalan cities at least twice more, starting with Lleida on Monday, and has committed to visiting all four Catalan provinces. Sánchez will join the PSC (the Catalan Socialists) at a Barcelona event in the week of the election; no date has been set.

Why the PP is investing in Catalonia

elDiario.es reports that the PP expects Catalonia to give it a boost and help it bury the majority of deputies that has allowed the Sánchez government to govern during this term. Catalonia is the Socialists’ safest stronghold, and they believe they need very little to get a very good result, so Sánchez’s single visit fits that outlook.

The PP faces a tougher fight. Vox is close behind it, and it also competes with Junts and with voters left without a party because Aliança Catalana is not running in the general election. According to the outlet, García Albiol was chosen partly for that reason: he can compete for far-right votes and still appeal to more centrist voters.

The Badalona effect the PP is counting on

In May 2023, the PP won a record number of votes in Badalona. Two months later, in the general election, it kept only a fraction of them. The party reads this as proof that García Albiol’s name carries more weight than the PP brand, and it hopes to use that effect across Catalonia.

If the Badalona effect does not carry the campaign by itself, senior party figures are also due to visit, including Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Miguel Tellado and mayors of large cities such as Málaga.

Housing, immigration and security

The Catalan PP will center its message on housing, immigration and security. It plans to campaign in towns with many residents born abroad, such as Figueres, Salt, Salou and Lleida.

García Albiol also plans to spend a few hours in Ripoll, a town governed by Aliança Catalana, where the PP won only 350 votes in the last Congress elections. Per elDiario.es, the visit is meant to show that the party will look for far-right votes even in strongly pro-independence areas.

What is at stake for the PP in Barcelona

The PP’s campaign team has set itself a goal: to finish second in Barcelona. That could put the first Barcelona senator in the party’s history within reach. The team calculates it would need 6 seats in Barcelona and at least one more from Girona, Lleida or Tarragona.

Source: elDiario.es