The Diplomat
The MEP and former Secretary General of Ciudadanos, Adrián Vázquez, will run in the elections to the European Parliament on 9 June on the lists of the Partido Popular, along with two other MEPs from the orange party: Susana Solís and Eva Poptcheva.
Vázquez, who has been one of the most active members of the European Parliament during the last legislature, especially in the fight against the pro-independence movement, confirmed the decision, which had been announced by ‘El Mundo’. The newspaper said that both Adrián Vázquez and Susana Solís will be among the first 20 on a list that will possibly be headed by current MEP Dolors Monserrat. Eva Poptcheva will be in the next section of the list.
The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is expected to announce the name of the person who will head the party’s candidacy tomorrow Friday, but in political circles it would be considered a surprise if the chosen one is not Dolors Monserrat, who already headed the candidacy in the 2019 elections.
Adrián Vázquez resigned from his post as secretary general of Ciudadanos on 22 March, after the failure of the negotiations that the orange party had opened with the PP to run together in the Catalan and European elections, an option that the MEP defended.
Yesterday, in an account on the social network X, Vazquez justified his decision to make the leap to the PP in that this formation is, at this time, ‘the only political alternative’ capable of ‘rebuilding’ the ‘civic and constitutional coexistence’. ‘At a critical moment in our democracy, we must be on the side of the defence of the rule of law and the founding values of the Union,’ he said.
Also yesterday, Núñez Feijóo, announced on the same social network that the philosopher Fernando Savater will close the list of the PP for the European elections, a symbolic position, but valued by the leader of the ‘populares’, who said: ‘He is an authoritative voice and with a biography committed to the defence of democratic values’. He added: ‘It is time to unite, outside and inside politics. In the streets and at the ballot box. For equality and freedoms”.
This is not the first time that the Basque philosopher and writer, who has participated in numerous anti-nationalist initiatives in recent years, has formed part of an electoral list, although now he is doing so in a merely symbolic position. In the 2015 general elections, Savater stood for the Senate for Unión, Progreso y Democracia (UPyD), the party he promoted together with Rosa Díez, Albert Boadella and Mario Vargas Llosa, among others. The following year he tried to win a seat in Parliament under the same name, competing as number five on the Madrid list, headed by Gorka Maneiro, who now forms part of the Izquierda Española candidacy for the 9 June elections.
PSOE names
For its part, the PSOE announced new additions to its list for the European elections, which will be headed by Third Vice-President Teresa Ribera, with the current president of the European Socialist group, Iratxe García, as ‘number two’.
Specifically, the Socialists are bringing back Leyre Pajín, who was Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality between 2010 and 2011 in the final stage of the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Secretary of Organisation of the PSOE between 2008 and 2010. Pajín, who after leaving politics worked for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and since 2019 has been president of the Spanish Sustainable Development Network (REDS), will be at number 8 on the Socialists’ list, which guarantees her the seat.
The third place on the list will be occupied by Javi López, proposed by the PSC and who climbs one position compared to the 2019 elections; and the fourth, the MP and member of the Federal Executive, Hana Jalloul, who is currently the spokesperson of the Socialist Group in the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Some of the current MEPs, such as César Luena, in 9th place, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, in 13th place, and Nacho Sánchez Amor, in 15th place, among others, are also in starting positions.
