The mayor of the municipality of Montemayor de Pililla in Valladolid, Noel Serna, announced his resignation as a member of the PSOE, amid the growing internal crisis that the party is experiencing at the national and provincial levels.
Serna, who continues to lead the municipal council of this town of more than 850 inhabitants, explained to this media that his decision does not seek to harm the party, but rather to deliver a “slap on the wrist” in the face of the situation the party is experiencing.
“It’s a slap on the wrist because it hurts me a lot, I’m from the PSOE. I don’t want to hurt the PSOE, but it can’t continue like this,” declared the councilor.
He also announced his departure through a message posted on his WhatsApp status: “A politician must be honest to serve his neighbors with principles and values“, specifying that his resignation responds to a question of ethics and personal consistency.
Serna’s departure comes in a delicate context for the PSOE, which is going through a media and political crisis marked by a constant stream of alleged cases of abuse and internal controversies that have called into question the party’s image in several provinces.
Precisely, his departure comes just after learning last Thursday of the resignation of the former senator of Valladolid Javier Izquierdo, which is the main cause. An internal information file was opened regarding Izquierdo, Oscar Puente’s right-hand man, due to reports suggesting he had engaged in sexist behavior.
His decision was already communicated to the party, which initially asked him to think about it, but he ultimately decided to withdraw his membership. “I want to show the anger of one more activist and say that this cannot continue like this.”
Despite abandoning activism, Noel Serna confirmed that he would maintain his position as mayor of Montemayor de Pililla. I want to continue “assuming my responsibility towards the neighbors, although outside the PSOE”.
Serna admits that he is “disappointed” since he defends that “we are not all the same”. At the moment he does not know if he will continue in the next legislature and if he will return to the PSOE if circumstances change. “We have to do everything, it can’t continue like this,” he criticizes.
Me too
We must not forget that the PSOE is going through a huge crisis which was accentuated this week with its particular “Me Too”. The national leadership of the PSOE saw a cascade of controversies over sexual and workplace harassment which led to investigations and resignations in different provinces, including in positions such as those of mayors of Almussafes (Valencia) and equality officials in Galicia, and forced the party to promise internal changes to better handle complaints.
The socialist mayor of BelalcazarFrancisco Luis Fernández, resigned from office and left the party after sending sexually inappropriate messages to a municipal employee.
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