The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, has stated that he perceives an "upward" trend for the PSOE in the pre-campaign for the general elections on November 29, compared to a Popular Party (PP) that, according to his assessment, "is going down", during an informative event organized by Artículo 14.
Bolaños, who alluded to the latest published polls, recalled that most polls give an absolute majority to a coalition between PP and Vox, although he asked for caution with these data, arguing that "in the last 30 years, in almost all general elections, the polls have been wrong." "On some occasions, spectacularly. This is a true, indisputable fact," he stressed.
The minister insisted that there is still time for candidacies and coalitions to be formed, which is why he called for prudence in the face of electoral projections. Even so, he defended that "the trend of recent days is a clear trend" and added that the PSOE must continue explaining its political project to the citizens and confronting it with that proposed by PP and Vox. "But it is true that the data allows us to be optimistic," he concluded.
The unknown about Zapatero and the Campaign Committee
Asked if he would share electoral events with former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Bolaños, number three of the PSOE for the Madrid list, avoided commenting and pointed out that this question corresponds to the Campaign Committee, the body in charge of planning political events. That said, the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, stated weeks ago that he would count on the former socialist leader judicially investigated for the 'Plus Ultra case' in an electoral campaign.
In this context, the minister defended that the Government's priority will be to continue governing until 29N, as, he recalled, other executives did in previous stages. "We are going to govern until the last day and demonstrate to the citizens the importance of having a social democratic and progressive government," he affirmed.
Discretion in conversations between the left
Regarding the negotiations between Frente Amplio and Podemos, just hours before the deadline to register coalitions expires, the Minister of Justice asked to wait to see how that space is configured and highlighted the "social leadership" and "very competent" that exists to the left of the PSOE.
Bolaños defended that conversations to build a unity project must be kept with the greatest possible reserve. "The more discreet, the better," he said, before adding "And the fewer public statements, the better."
The Senate, the majority and criticism of the PP
The socialist leader also referred to a possible unitary candidacy between the PSOE and other left-wing formations for the Senate, and acknowledged that the party is exploring alternatives, with the aim of winning "in Congress" and also in the Upper House.
Finally, Bolaños criticized the performance of the PP in the Senate during the last legislature, in which it had an absolute majority, considering that its behavior "has been contrary to the slightest institutional loyalty" because, he denounced, "it has systematically dedicated itself to blocking any legislative initiative of the Government."