The until now spokesperson for the popular group in the Corts Valencianes and mayor of Finestrat, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, will be the eighth president of the Generalitat Valenciana in democracy. However, his appointment has not come from the will of the Valencian people expressed in an election, but from the support of the extreme right of Vox for a PP that has supported each and every one of its postulates in the investiture plenary session that was held this Thursday from 11:00 a.m. in the Corts Valencianes. A situation that was caused by the resignation of Carlos Mazón on November 3 as a result of his management of the Dana.
The Vox spokesperson in the Valencian Courts, José María Llanos, confirmed during the investiture debate that he will support Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca as president of the Generalitat Valenciana: “We will support his investiture,” he advanced in his speech prior to the vote.
After the last intervention of the far-right Catalan Ombudsman, there was a 20-minute recess since it had been agreed that the vote would take place at 6:00 p.m. It was at that moment that the acting president, Carlos Mazón, arrived, who had been absent from the plenary session, as he explained on his social networks, so as not to take away Pérez Llorca’s prominence.
Upon his arrival, Mazón shared hugs with members of the parliamentary group, but above all with his councilors from the Consell. Also with Pérez Llorca, whom he has congratulated effusively.
At 6:00 p.m. sharp the vote took place in which there were no surprises. Vox’s 13 votes have been added to the PP’s 40, achieving a comfortable absolute majority that stands at 50 seats. The PSPV with 31 deputies and Compromís with 15 have voted against.
At the end of the session Mazón wanted to congratulate the man who will be his successor when his inauguration takes place, which will take place once the appointment of Pérez Llorca as president of the Generalitat is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), within a maximum period of 10 business days. However, the board of spokespersons has initially agreed that the inauguration will take place on Tuesday, December 2 at 12:00 p.m.
“Today is the day of the president of the Generalitat, it is a very important responsibility and we all have to support him for the future of our land, which is above all else. I am going to support him to the best of my ability, with the tranquility and conviction that this new stage deserves. He is going to be an extraordinary president,” said Mazón, who did not clarify when asked by journalists whether he is going to leave the record.
Next, Pérez Llorca said he was “very calm” and was aware that he had “a very important responsibility.” Furthermore, he said that they have “a lot of work ahead of them” and that they have to continue “with the reconstruction” and address “many needs that Valencians have in other parts of the Valencian Community.” According to Llorca, the objective is to work “from dialogue, from common sense, from the search for agreement” and he highlighted that “there is no need for tension and insults, that has distanced us a lot from society and from reality, we must show society that we are up to the task.”
Third accidental president
There are two precedents of presidents invested with the legislature in progress due to resignations of those elected in the elections, in both cases from the PP: José Luis Olivas in 2002, after the departure of Eduardo Zaplana as Minister of Labor, and Alberto Fabra, after the resignation of Camps in 2011 due to the suit case linked to the ‘Gürtel’ plot, of which he was declared “not guilty.”
Finally, Pérez Llorca’s speech has convinced those of Santiago Abascal that he has thus avoided the uncertainty of facing a second vote and, if things go badly wrong, regional elections. This scenario was the least desired, especially by the PP, since it would have meant putting the Government of the Valencian Community at risk.
As the ultras have already been warning, the pact will involve assuming the harshest postulates of the extreme right on immigration and climate denialism, when the European PP itself, led by the president of the Commission, Úrsula Von der Leyen, has been supporting and promoting the European Green Deal and Agenda 2030.
In his speech, Pérez Llorca assured that “the European Green Deal is the greatest threat to our farmers” and that it has been “imposed by European office elites”, when the reality is that it was agreed upon by the European PP itself with the support of the socialists in Brussels. Regarding immigration, he stated that they will work “with formulas so that minors return to their families and have a chance for the future with policies based on legality.”
Pérez Llorca, a ‘mazonista’ who is not passing through
‘Mazonism’ once again won a battle against the national leadership of the PP. Who knows if it will be the last. After days of indecision, the leadership headed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo opted for continuity and appointed Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, Juanfran for everyone who approaches the Corts, successor of Carlos Mazón to occupy the Presidency of the Generalitat Valenciana. Feijóo’s number one candidate was always the mayor of València, María José Catalá, but her appointment at this time could be more counterproductive since it would have meant emptying the City Hall’s engine room, that is, her circle of trust, to take her to the Palau de la Generalitat at a time of wear and tear as a result of the dana. The national president of the PP finally chose to save that bullet for a better occasion, perhaps in view of the next elections scheduled for two years from now.
However, although he publicly denies it, Pérez Llorca has no idea of being a transitional president. Anyone who knows him knows that he will try to convince the heavyweights of the party and the militancy to run as a candidate in the next elections if the polls are even remotely favorable. For now, as was made visible in the Benidorm conclave after Mazón’s resignation, he would have the support of the three provincial presidents. After that meeting, the head of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, was also discussed as a possible candidate. But first the regional congress of the popular parties must be held, to which former president Francisco Camps has already announced that he will present himself as a candidate with a project to lead the party. It remains to be seen what both Pérez Llorca and Catalá will do. Or even Genoa to avoid a fratricidal confrontation between the popular Valencians.
Pérez Llorca (Finestrat, Alicante, 1976) is a discreet, close man. 24 hours before his appointment, he assured that no one had informed him that he was the candidate. That he is mayor of Finestrat and owes it to his neighbors. Mayor who holds three terms, he began to grow in municipal politics, in a small municipality in the shadow of Benidorm. In 2015 he was elected provincial deputy in Alicante, a position he renewed in 2019. Under the leadership of Carlos Mazón, his career began to grow rapidly: he was named provincial coordinator in Alicante, then deputy secretary of organization of the PPCV. With the PP’s electoral leap in the 2023 regional elections, he became general secretary of the party and, in 2024, with the remodeling of the Consell, he assumed the position of spokesperson for the popular group in the Valencian Cortes. He owes his growth to Mazón.
Source: www.eldiario.es
