Emiliano García-Page incorporates his first book into a pre-campaign in which he again makes visible his differences with Pedro Sánchez. The president of Castilla-La Mancha defended this Saturday "reasonable politics" against "simplistic populisms" when presenting the reasons that led him to write 'Luces de emergencia' (Emergency Lights), which will arrive in bookstores next Wednesday, October 28.
"I have never had pretensions of being a writer, but I have had pretensions of contributing, of trying to build in Spain," he explained in a video sent to the media. The socialist leader wants to bring this reflection especially to young people and maintains that it is worth defending reasonable politics because "the opposite always leads to the worst place."
Page has claimed his freedom to express his opinion and his willingness to "maintain his personal and political coherence." He aspires, he said, to "give the best version of Spain, offer optimism, much hope, reasons," at a time when he considers that "there is much unreason."
This Saturday's message does not expressly mention Sánchez, but it comes after weeks of public disagreements and a new dispute over the socialist candidacies. The publication will give another space for intervention to the regional president when there is little more than a month left until the general elections on November 29 and the PSOE needs to mobilize its electorate against the PP and the far-right Vox.
The book recovers the Federal Committee that ended with Sánchez's resignation
The full title of the work, 'Luces de emergencia. Contra los populismos y el frentismo' (Emergency Lights. Against populisms and frontism), summarizes the position that Page wants to defend. Espasa will publish a 288-page volume that, according to its editorial presentation, combines his political experience with reflections on the Transition, the 1978 Constitution, the autonomous state, and the role of Europe.
The history of the PSOE occupies part of this journey. Among the announced episodes is the Federal Committee of October 1, 2016, which ended with Sánchez's resignation as general secretary. It is a conflict that Page still keeps in mind. Last April he denounced that in that meeting there was an attempt at "pucherazo" (rigging), an accusation with which he returned to one of the deepest fractures of the party.
The publisher also announces a review of figures such as Juan Carlos I, Adolfo Suárez, Felipe González, José María Aznar, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Mariano Rajoy, and Sánchez himself. The work addresses independentism, personalism, and the deterioration of public debate from the perspective of a leader who began as a councilor in Toledo in 1987 and has presided over Castilla-La Mancha since 2015.
When announcing the project on October 1 in an interview on 'Onda Cero', Page assured that it would include "concrete data" and "novel information" and explained that he had rejected previous proposals to write because he was "very modest". This Saturday he has placed his purpose in combating populisms that, in his opinion, "really distort our reality" and in defending a country "very diverse, very plural, but with a lot of soul."
The 29N lists once again pit Ferraz against Page's PSOE
The distance from the national leadership has much more concrete expressions than that defense of moderation. In an interview with 'encastillalamancha.es', published on October 9, Page described his relations with the Government as "Objectively, they are very bad" and reproached ministers for visiting his community without notifying or inviting him. Faced with questions about his electoral support for Sánchez, he responded with another internal warning. "I believe I am more of the Socialist Party than some who lead it".
Page has announced that he will focus his participation in the campaign on water, healthcare, public education, social services, and dependency, also demanding commitments from his party. His position combines the defense of the socialist acronym with continuous criticism of those who lead it. The absolute majority he obtained in 2023, with 17 of the 33 regional deputies, allows him to maintain his own profile, although the general elections will require his federation to ask for votes for the same candidate he questions.
The closing of the lists has added new differences. Ferraz placed Amparo Torres at the head of the candidacy for Albacete, despite the provincial leadership having backed Emilio Sáez, close to Page. In Guadalajara, María Jesús Merino will head the list for Congress instead of Rafael Esteban, who will run for the Senate. According to 'elDiario.es', these changes generated territorial discomfort, although the provincial organizations accepted the decisions.
Page also did not attend last Saturday's Federal Committee meeting, which he considered a mere formality without the possibility of intervening. Afterwards, the rally that Sánchez had planned to hold on Wednesday in Toledo was canceled, which the regional president was not going to attend due to an institutional trip to Italy. Sources consulted by 'elDiario.es' attributed the suspension to Sánchez's international agenda, without linking it to the dispute over the candidacies.
