Madrid chief¡¯s talk of ¡°burning churches¡± upsets Popular Party colleagues

Controversial statements by Madrid¡¯s regional leader, Isabel D¨ªaz Ayuso of the conservative Popular Party (PP), have eclipsed attempts by party leaders to strike a moderate tone ahead of the November 10 general election.

Speaking inside the regional assembly on Thursday, the recently appointed premier accused the caretaker prime minister, Pedro S¨¢nchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE), of using Spain¡¯s late dictator Francisco Franco for electoral purposes.

¡°S¨¢nchez is again mired in a stalemate, and he wants Franco to pull him out of this mess,¡± said D¨ªaz Ayuso, alluding to the repeat vote that will take place in November after S¨¢nchez won the April election but failed to form a government due to lack of sufficient parliamentary support. It will be Spain¡¯s fourth national election in under four years.

That kind of rhetoric mobilizes the left. Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t spread

Anonymous PP congressman

D¨ªaz Ayuso argued that S¨¢nchez¡¯s plans to exhume Franco¡¯s remains from the Valley of the Fallen monument ¨C a signature project of the PSOE¡¯s that has been delayed for years due to legal hurdles ¨C is an attempt at attracting leftist voters. She also called it highly divisive, and resorted to Civil War imagery to suggest what could come next.

¡°What will it be next? [Taking down] the cross from the valley? The entire valley? The neighborhood churches? Will they burn like they did in 1936?¡± said D¨ªaz Ayuso, a former journalist who took office in August on a message of ¡°consensus and dialogue above permanent tension and conflict.¡±

Her words did not sit well with PP leaders, who have adopted a milder tone ahead of the November polls compared to their campaigning in April of this year. On Thursday, party chief Pablo Casado was in Melilla, a Spanish exclave city in North Africa, where he spoke about ¡°respecting everyone¡¯s religious freedom on the strength of the principles that unite us.¡± He also said it was better not to engage ¡°in debates that are of no interest to anyone.¡±

It¡¯s the economy

But Casado¡¯s attempt at sending out the message that only the PP can avoid a new economic crisis in Spain was eclipsed by D¨ªaz Ayuso¡¯s headline-grabbing statements. ¡°That kind of rhetoric mobilizes the left. Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t spread,¡± said one PP congressman.

¡°They go crazy over Franco. It¡¯s the party people who share that kind of opinion who see you end up with fewer than 66 seats [in Congress]. Most of our potential voters are not into that kind of narrative, let alone younger people,¡± said another PP leader.

PP president Casado has adopted a discreet position with regard to Franco¡¯s exhumation. When the project was put to a vote in Congress, the PP did not vote against but rather abstained, arguing that they do not see it as a priority and that money should not be spent on it. Casado has said in the past that he ¡°wouldn¡¯t spend a euro on digging up Franco.¡±

Casado personally selected D¨ªaz Ayuso as the PP candidate ahead of the regional elections of May and entrusted her with a mission: to stem the loss of voters who were switching to the far-right party Vox. The choice raised some eyebrows among senior party members due to her lack of political experience, but D¨ªaz Ayuso ultimately managed to keep the PP in control of a regional government that handles an annual budget of over €20 billion.

English version by Susana Urra.