The schism between Inés Arrimadas and Edmundo Bal in Ciudadanos was completed this Wednesday. Barely an hour after the joint scrutiny session in the Chamber, sitting side by side in their seats, the Speaker has left the Chamber to appear before the media before the lions of Congress to present his candidacy for the primary elections to be held on the 9th and 10th January instead. “We led this candidacy with the intention of making Ciudadanos a renewed vehicle in central Spain as a liberal and progressive party. It’s about it being a real renovation, no drama, no cosmetics, no make-up,” Bal reiterated in a veiled critique of Arrimadas and flanked by the leaders who make up his roster. The Speaker will face the – yet unknown – candidacy in which the current President will participate (but not lead).
Bal has recruited Madrid City Councilor Santiago Saura to join his team. The mayor is targeting the second most important post on the future board – that of general secretary, who will be appointed after the inaugural assembly of 13 March way of unity has worked. Saura, in charge of internationalization and cooperation for the city council, was number two on the list with Villacís in the local elections in May 2019 and was appointed deputy spokesman by order of the deputy mayor.
The tandem with the Councilor, in turn, reflects Bal’s intent to escape the label of a “right-wing” party and adopt a broader profile that “both sides” agree with. “Our project is the project not to submit to any other political option,” said the parliamentarian.
Bal also has the backing of virtually the entire Ciudadanos parliamentary group in Congress: five MPs have expressed their support, compared to just one loyal to Arrimadas and another remaining neutral. MPs María del Carmen Martínez and Sara Giménez, members of the list presented today, are aspiring to the positions of Coordinator General and Deputy Secretary General respectively. Bal also has the support of MPs Miguel Gutiérrez and Juan Ignacio López-Bas. And with that of José María Espejo-Saavedra, who was not present at the candidacy presentation but showed his support on social networks. Also on Bal’s side is the party’s only senator, Miguel Sánchez; the attorney of the Cortes of Castilla y Léon, Francisco Igea; and the Secretary of the Organization of the Cs in Madrid and Deputy Mayor of Alcalá de Henares (which governs in coalition with the PSOE), Miguel Lezcano.
MP López-Bas himself was responsible this Tuesday for negotiating a candidacy for the unit in a last-ditch attempt with David Martínez, Arrimadas’ chief of staff. In that conversation, according to Bal’s version, his team took a step back in its efforts and offered the president to join the list while retaining her position as speaker in Congress. you
rejected the proposal.
Edmundo Bal takes care of the media before the Congress of Deputies.Luis Sevillano
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regain focus
Arrimadas’ environment makes Bal ugly because only this Wednesday, in full parliamentary confrontation with the government over the criminal code reform agreed with ERC, he intensified the struggle for internal leadership to benefit the defendants in the trial. “You won’t find me this week, which is the worst week in the Pedro Sánchez government devoted to criticism, which has been my right-hand man until recently,” the president chided Tuesday. Sources around Arrimadas don’t understand how Bal presented his candidacy today when the party had a chance to regain “focus” thanks to the anti-government offensive. “This is our topic,” these sources influence the debate on the reform of hate speech and embezzlement. In this sense, and during his question to Minister Félix Bolaños, Arrimadas reiterated the discourse that Cs had in Catalonia in 2017, which catapulted them to the national level.
The list that Arrimadas will “close” will be announced in the coming days. This practically eliminates the possibility of a unified candidacy, and the break in the parliamentary group must be resolved after January. It remains unclear who will fill the post of speaker in the party primaries after the war.