Feijóo raises his tone in Málaga to attract disaffected votes from the Andalusian Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).

Alberto Núñez Feijóo returned yesterday to his attack on the government and the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), raising his tone, if possible, determined to exploit the alleged links of members of this party to prostitution in an attempt to attract votes from disaffected Socialists in Andalusia in a possible general election.

Juanma Moreno became president of the Andalusian Regional Government in 2019 after an election campaign that began with an event outside a brothel attended by high-ranking members of the Andalusian Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) using public funds. Feijóo followed suit, taking advantage of the renewed focus on the issue due to the scandals surrounding former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos. He used the example yesterday at the kick-off event for the Andalusian People's Party (PP) alongside Moreno in Alhaurín el Grande (Málaga). "The pimps and the tweeters will emerge from the Ministry of Transport," Feijóo declared, aware of the weariness and disappointment that Andalusian PSOE voters may have with the scandals surrounding the Socialists and the poor performance of the high-speed rail network, which is racking up incidents and delays on the connection between southern Spain and Madrid.

The opposition leader makes five commitments to the Andalusian people and encourages regional "grievances."

Feijóo has always maintained a good relationship with Moreno because both have sought to project the same political style and tone: moderation. However, the PP leader now isn't hesitant to raise his tone in the face of the government's parliamentary weakness and the pressure exerted by Vox's electoral growth. Hence, yesterday, Feijóo once again used the "brothel" card to try to discredit the PSOE and listed his five commitments to the Andalusian people for when, as he hopes, he takes office. Specifically, these are restoring the punctuality of the AVE (High-Speed ​​Train); maintaining general infrastructure with a visit every three months from the Minister of Public Works; ensuring security to curb the risks posed by drug trafficking in the region (he again called for legal immigration over illegal immigration); managing water resources, important to the Andalusian economy, with the promise of a national water pact; and defend “equality” among Spaniards to prevent the “privileges” of some autonomous regions from being detrimental to Andalusia.

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Andalusia is a key region for the Moncloa election, as it holds 61 of the 350 seats in Congress. The PP leader knows that in recent years there has been a shift of Socialist votes to his party, but he wants more, aware of Pablo Casado's setback in 2019 when he tied with Vox in that region in terms of vote share (20%).

Moreno, who yesterday defended his stewardship of Andalusia over the past six years, is practically assured of victory in the regional elections scheduled for 2026, but Feijóo will have to confront the rise of Vox. And to avoid any scares with Santiago Abascal's party and try to capitalize on the discontent with Sánchez's PSOE, Feijóo didn't hesitate to raise the tone yesterday at the event in Malaga to try to convince Andalusians that the PP is the useful vote.

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Feijóo and Moreno also delved into the "grievances" suffered by Andalusia since the People's Party (PP) took over the regional government. "The central government cannot be the worst opposition to Andalusia," Feijóo said after Moreno himself listed some of the "abuse" he believes the region is suffering, such as the "reduced" state investment in the electricity grid in a region that is investing heavily in clean energy. They also criticized the debt relief for the autonomous communities, which, in their opinion, "harms" those that have reduced public spending, such as Andalusia.