PP unveils provincial lists and the 'El cambio necesario' slogan ahead of 29 November vote

Provincial lists take shape

The Partido Popular (PP) has presented its candidate lists for the general election of 29 November in several provinces. In Seville, Juan Bravo leads the Congress list, and the Senate list is headed by Juan Manuel Ávila Gutiérrez. Ricardo Sánchez, the party's president in Seville, said a Congress list led by Bravo would push for more investment and for infrastructure that is actually built. He cited the SE-40 road, a project of about 77 kilometres of which only 38 are in service, and the third lane on the A-49, which is still awaiting construction. In Tarragona, Mónica Landete heads the Congress list, followed by Pere Lluís Huguet and Elisa Vedrina, and the party has placed housing, infrastructure, jobs and security at the top of its priorities. In Navarra, the PP is running in coalition with UPN, with Leticia San Martín leading the Congress list and Sergio Sayas in second place.

Campaign calendar

Feijóo will present the national electoral programme on Tuesday, 10 November, in Madrid, with Alma Ezcurra, who coordinated the document, also taking part. The official campaign opens on the night of Thursday, 12 November, when Feijóo holds his first big rally in Badalona (Barcelona), alongside Xavier García Albiol, the city's mayor and the Congress candidate for Barcelona. Further rallies are scheduled for Saturday, 14 November, in Santiago de Compostela and for Saturday, 21 November, in Valencia, which falls at the midpoint of the 15-day campaign. The slogan 'El cambio necesario' was revealed on Friday, 6 November. It follows a banner reading 'Por fin' that the party hung on its national headquarters after Pedro Sánchez announced the election about three weeks before 6 November.

Pensions, housing and the rail probe

In Arganda del Rey, Carlos Novillo told a Madrid rally that Feijóo will guarantee pensions because he is a man of his word, and he insisted that pensions are guaranteed for all Spanish retirees. Alongside him, Alfonso Serrano responded to a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) probe into suspected fraud involving European funds for signalling and communications on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, where a fatal accident occurred near Urda (Toledo). Serrano said that 6 billion euros of Next Generation funds went directly to Adif, the rail infrastructure manager. In Logroño, Cuca Gamarra described housing as the main problem facing Spaniards and outlined plans for more land for construction, faster permits, a land law and changes to horizontal property rules. She also proposed an anti-squatting law that would allow an occupier to be removed within 48 hours. In Cáceres, Borja Sémper linked mismanagement of public services to delays and accidents and asked what had happened at Adif over many years, referring also to the detention of a former driver of Pedro Sánchez in the 'caso Koldo' investigation into alleged kickbacks in public works contracts.

Sémper framed the election as a turning point for the country. He said voters would have to take a position on very deep issues.

“Spaniards will have to take positions on very deep issues, probably the most important since our transition.”

Navarra, La Rioja and the choice on offer

In Pamplona, the UPN and PP coalition presented its candidates, and Sayas said Spain is going through one of the most difficult moments in its recent history. He accused Sánchez of degrading public and institutional life and called the coalition the only realistic option for removing him from office. Leticia San Martín said the coalition would keep Navarra's regional status, its economic agreement and its powers over its own competences. In La Rioja, Gamarra framed the vote as a choice between two directions for the government.

“Spaniards choose between decency and crime.”

Gamarra said the alternative would be a government that merely continues the current approach, which she argued protects squatters and penalises people trying to access housing.