A woman of about 60 years old begins distributing flags from Extremadura to the skinny and the homeless, most of whom are evil. One woman takes three. Four more. “Why do you want so much?” asks another. No response. There were only a few minutes left until the start of the extreme election campaign in Plasencia, where Pedro Sánchez was greeted with a cry of “Pedro, Pedro, Pedro!”. It gathered and filled – among the majority of its population of retirement age – the Palace of Congress in the fourth city of the region (40 thousand inhabitants) and the rhythm of the radical band of that moment, Sanguejolas del Guadiana.
The head of the government was elected capital of Kherty to introduce and grant Pistoletazzo an unprecedented campaign for the Socialists. Immediately, Sánchez appealed to private health and the audio recordings revealed this month by El País newspaper about the Madrid hospital in Torrejon. “The same as the cribados of Andalusia, or the scraps of (Maria) Guardiola, or the privatizations of (Isabel Diaz) Ayuso,” he says. “First, reduce. And I will increase the queues. Is dealing with everyone’s health what makes them get four. In the end, what happens? He asks the newbie Ayusu.”
Inappropriately, the Socialist leader focused on the fact that his lineup does not involve elections or opinion polls (“falls with it”), a veiled reference to electoral regrouping for general elections in 2023. Sánchez, once again, called for a massive movement. “We will win by oath (…) What Luigo tells me is that I am dueling a lot of Spain, but what they are dueling is that I am beating Izquierda.”
The Socialists arrive with Miguel Ángel Gallardo as head of the electoral cartel, who has been investigated for allegedly filling in for Sánchez’s brother in the Diputación de Badajoz. However, the candidate did not go far on this issue. A Supreme Court ruling was announced this week. The decision exempts three socialist mayors from the municipalities of Valle del Jerte, who in 2019 were sentenced to 11 years of disqualification in the case of spilling cherries in unauthorized areas. “I understand my suffering,” Gallardo said to the applause of the loyal audience. “And the explanations you have to give. And what you have to explain to your families. I understand more than anything else because I live it! (…) If I had a backpack full of stones, this is what I want from the super derecha that takes me. More difficulty, more gains.”
Gallardo arrives with some polls portending a sharp decline in the fortunes of the Socialist Workers Party. In fact, party sources in the region risk that the campaign will be “long.” I’m just getting started. The Socialists, led by Guillermo Fernández Vara, won the last elections with 28 votes, the same number of votes as the People’s Party, which reached the junta after an agreement with the Vox Party.
Gallardo, who was also mayor of Villanueva de la Serena for 21 years, played the game on December 21 with nothing. He promised to provide 1,000 homes worth 90,000 euros for young people, which is one of the keys to these meetings. There was also a hole in the PP and Vox agreement for 2023 and Guardiola’s refusal to participate in the three election debates that were put on the table. However, no one mentioned Unidas por Extremadura, the other formation of groups present in Asamblea.
“Guardiola has no projects,” he says. “The best tribute that can be paid to Guillermo (Fernandez Vara, who died this year from stomach cancer) is the 21st.” On the back, in large red letters, is the slogan of the Socialist Workers’ Party on the extreme flag, green, white and black: “Hazlo o lo harán”.