The internal pressure against José Ramón Gómez Besteiro is increasing. On the one hand, the mayor of La Coruña presses, appears and leaves messages between the lines in an increasingly harsh tone against the current leadership of the PSdeG for the management of complaints. … internal against José Tomé. On the other hand, it appeared this Monday that historical figures of Galician socialism, such as the former presidents of the Xunta Emilio Pérez Touriño and Fernando González Laxe, as well as the former parliamentary spokesperson Xoaquín Fernández Leiceaga, also signed the manifesto promoted by the socialist women who shows his “stupor, his shame and his inevitable disaffection with the party” for the management of this crisis which is hitting the PSdeG.
At least for now, Inés Rey avoids naming the leader of the Galician socialists by his first and last name. But his implicit allusion is clear: “I missed the voices of powerful men of my party, of public and organic positions”, he declared this Monday during an appearance in the press to report on the parade of the Three Kings, but which, with a notable presence of journalists, led to the internal crisis of the Galician PSOE after discovering the accusations against the interim president of the Provincial Delegation of Lugo and mayor of Monforte.
The mayor of La Coruña is not just anyone in the PSdeG. In a match without dolphins in sight and with few proper names on the bench with scratches to succeed Besteiro, if necessary, Rey seems to be one of the most viable options in a potential boss change. This is why, after having signed, with six other PSdeG mayors, among 350 women and men of the party, a manifesto of support for Silvia Fraga after her resignation from the post of Equality Secretary of the party in Galicia, her words and gestures are being scrutinized. Although, for the moment, she continues to limit her political aspirations to the municipal scene of La Coruña.
Besteiro, in any case, fits this description of a “powerful man” with a “public and organic” position, but Rey, when interviewed by the press, preferred not to target him directly: “I’m not going to point the finger at anyone, it’s a reflection,” he simply declared. in front of journalists.
From Inés Rey’s appearance before the press, in addition to this implicit criticism of Besteiro, another message emerges that could go unnoticed. “Enough of conspiracy theories and things that contribute nothing,” said the mayor of La Coruña, in a statement that must be understood as a response to certain internal voices of the PSdeG linked to Besteiro who are trying to bring out a story according to which Inés Rey’s entourage would try to amplify the alleged cases of harassment and abuse with the aim of exhausting the current leadership of the Galician PSOE.
But the critical voices against the current socialist leadership go well beyond those close to the mayor of La Coruña, and not to mention the usual reprimands on social networks of the former secretary general of the party Gonzalo Caballero towards his successors, because this seems to be a faded screen of Galician socialism. But that the names of Touriño, González Laxe and Leiceaga are among the 350 signings that they support Silvia Fraga after her resignation is not trivial.
“His resignation is an act of feminist commitment by which we feel deeply represented,” defends the man named “Open manifesto for feminism at PSdeG-PSOE”. Seven socialist mayors promoted it. Among them, in addition to Inés Rey, are the mayor of Betanzos, María Barral; Maceda’s advisor, Uxía Oviedo; that of Meis, Marta Guiráldez; that of Guitiriz, Marisol Morandeira; that of Silleda, Paula Fernández; that of A Pobra de Trives, Patricia Domínguez, as well as that of Rairiz de Veiga, Asunción Morgade. Other proper names who subscribe to it, for example, as reported by Ep, are the former mayor of La Coruña and former government delegate, currently member of the Council of State, Javier Losada; and other historical socialists such as Ricardo Varela and Francisco Cerviño.
This text, which continues to garner support in the ranks of the PSdeG, demands the “need to clarify the facts” -the alleged cases of harassment committed by Tomé- and specifies that “only firm and coherent action will make it possible to maintain the trust of citizens”, because “there is no room for any action which protects or relativizes sexual harassment and machismo”.
The PSdeG leadership defends itself
Faced with these critical voices which, more or less explicitly, point the finger at Besteiro for its slow reaction, if not for its lack of transparency, in the Tomé case, representative Patricia Iglesias took it upon herself this Monday to defend the current leadership and, in a certain way, to try to divert attention, trying to look at the speck in the eye of others by attacking Alfonso Rueda for his management, a few months ago, of the complaint against his former advisor Villares.
“By part of the management – of the PSdeG – all the explanations have been given” and “the internal anti-harassment protocol was immediately activated” as soon as “this became known”, defended Iglesias, who, in any case, showed “maximum respect” for the signatories of the manifesto.
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