The PSOE has sent another signal this weekend that Teresa Ribera will be, pending formal nomination, the candidate of the main party of the Government in the European elections on June 9. The party assemblies of Madrid, to which she belongs, backed the Third Vice President of the Government and Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge “massively” on Saturday, according to sources from the regional leadership led by Juan Lobato. Ribera, affiliated with Majadahonda, was the most voted in the 123 PSOE groupings in Madrid, which specifically requested votes for the fourth member of the Executive. “Everyone has voted for Ribera everywhere,” summarize in the leadership of the Madrid Socialists. The prediction is that Pedro Sánchez will announce on Monday, at the meeting of the federal executive where the results of the Basque elections will be analyzed, that Ribera will be the chosen lead candidate for the European Parliament elections. The President of the Government and Secretary-General of the PSOE will wait until the electoral process in the Basque Country is concluded, where the socialists hope to grow and be the key to the government, renewing the coalition with the PNV started in 2016.
Ferraz has insisted in recent days that procedures must be respected and await proposals from the regions, and that is what makes the support that the Third Vice President has obtained in Madrid so important. The level of approval Ribera has received strengthens her choice to lead the European lists in a federation that is always associated with the Secretary-General ―the President of the Government is also a member of the PSOE of Madrid― and therefore it is assumed that she should propose the person to head the candidacy. Another important factor, the closing of ranks by the leadership of the Madrid Socialists with Ribera. The Federation’s Secretary of Organization, Marta Bernardo, sent an email last Thursday proposing the Third Vice President. The voting for candidates on the lists is not exclusive, meaning a member can support multiple candidates, but the gesture by the Madrid federation is symptomatic, especially when other federations of the PSOE in other regions have voted for other candidates. Ferraz sources suggest there will be few changes in the current list of MEPs. The federal committee, the highest organ of the PSOE between congresses, will approve it on April 27. The day before, the federal list commission is scheduled to meet to finalize the candidacy. But all signs point to knowing who will be leading the candidacy on Monday.
“After the elections in the Basque Country, we will focus on the Catalan elections and also on the European ones. And therefore, you will know who is going to be the candidate proposed by the PSOE,” observed Sánchez after the European Council on Thursday in Brussels. The President compared Ribera to Josep Borrell, EU High Representative, and Nadia Calviño, highlighting her leadership in issues related to climate policies, one of the main challenges facing humanity. In less than 24 hours, the PSOE is expected to confirm the choice of Ribera, which the party has considered a done deal for days.
