The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, took advantage of a visit to Malaga yesterday to support, at the same time, the city’s candidacy for the 2027 International Exposition and also the candidacy of his party colleague Daniel Pérez for mayor of the city.
“I am here to continue joining forces in a country project such as the candidacy and ensure that, in June, Malaga becomes the universal capital of Spain thanks to the celebration in 2027 of the Expo,” the minister told the press, after greeting the mayor, Francisco de la Torre (PP) at City Hall, touring the Picasso Museum and to support the PSOE candidate in the municipal elections on May 28.
“Until the last minute that the vote takes place, I will do personally and through all the ambassadors of Spain all the necessary steps for Malaga to be elected,” he continued. “On the part of the Government, we will spare no effort” because “Malaga is a candidacy that the Government of Spain is embracing with all its strength,” he said.
Malaga competes with the cities of Belgrade (Serbia), Phuket (Thailand), San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina) and Bloomington (United States) to win the Exhibition. In this regard, Albares assured that he has taken advantage of his presence in several recent international meetings, such as the G-20 meeting in New Delhi or the UN General Assembly in New York, to address the issue with his “colleagues” and “ask for their vote”.
However, he did not want to reveal details about the countries’ positions because “diplomacy requires discretion and, therefore, I am not going to reveal, the countries’ vote”. “I can’t reveal much, because the votes are all secret,” he added. “I can say that the candidacy of Malaga is very well placed, knowing that the competition is very tough and there are cities from all continents in contention,” he said.
In any case, Albares did not miss the moment to relate the two candidacies, that of Malaga to Expo27 and that of Daniel Pérez to the mayoralty. “Dani was the first person who approached me and told me ‘there is a Malaga candidacy and the Government has to support it’,” he assured. “I want to thank Daniel Pérez for all the good ideas that he has transferred to us so that the candidacy is successful,” he continued. In any case, the minister advocated that “there are no levels in the administration and all together we support this candidacy”.
On the other hand, and in reference to the discrepancies between PSOE and Unidas Podemos within the Government of Pedro Sánchez, Albares defended the existence of “different opinions in a coalition government as there are in all coalition governments in Europe”. “The important thing is not the opinions, but the decisions”, he warned, At this time, he assured, it is necessary “to face the economic and social consequences of that war that nobody has wanted except Vladimir Putin, and that is what the coalition Government does Tuesday to Tuesday”. “Therefore, nothing more normal, nothing more necessary for Spain than for the coalition Government to reach the end of the legislature, doing what it does, protecting the Spanish people”, he concluded.
