Juan Lobato barely lasted the fight with Ferraz and ended up resigning this Wednesday as general secretary of the PSOE of Madrid in a letter full of features on the actions of the party. Today the party leadership is trying to pass it off as an accident when it has released all the pressure to overthrow him and arrive without him at the Federal Congress this weekend in Seville. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the statement Lobato as a witness this Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the case which is investigating the leak of confidential data from Alberto González Amador, partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in which Moncloa is mired.
Judge Ángel Hurtado decided to summon the Madrid deputy to testify after the information of ABC, according to which he certified messages with Moncloa before a notary regarding the alleged leak of emails exchanged between the prosecution and the lawyer of Ayuso’s boyfriend. The magistrate indeed asked: copy of the notarial deed with the wasps he exchanged with Pilar Sánchez Acera, who was chief of staff of Óscar López, former director of the cabinet of Pedro Sánchez and current Minister of Digital Transformation. A figure which will also be decisive since he is the big favorite to replace Lobato.
In the meantime, the details of this maneuver by Lobato, which the party describes as “disloyal”, continue to be known. Information from ABC published this Thursday indicates that Lobato They sent her messages containing her boyfriend Ayuso’s confidential information before it was published in The plural(the only media where the email in question did not include a watermark) and other media. In fact, it was an hour before their publication and this was confirmed before a notary by the deputy from Madrid. Concretely, the messages with Sánchez Acera took place at 8:00 a.m. and the publication of the document took place at 9:06 a.m.
Everything will happen a few hours before the start of the Federal Congress, which will be held from November 29 to December 1. Despite the fact that socialist leaders like Ángel Víctor Torres, Santos Cerdán, María Jesús Montero and Pilar Alegría publicly demonstrated his “respect” due to Lobato’s decision, in an attempt not to appear to have forced his resignation, the truth is that sources from Ferraz and Moncloa tell laSexta that they are already breathing “relieved“.
After the Madrid epidemic, the party leadership is now conveying that it feels a certain sense of “relief” and “rest” for not having arrived at Congress this Friday with this open crisis. Likewise, they insist that Lobato made the “best decision” for him but above all for the party. However, what is perceived among many leaders It’s discouragement and restlessness.
The reason is that the Socialist Party of Madrid is now completely broken and this crisis has left many open wounds. The WhatsApp groups of Madrid’s socialist leaders are “on fire” and there are even leaders who ask Lobato to “pull the cover tomorrow in his statement before the Supreme Court. However, from Moncloa they say they are calm because they emphasize that “There is nothing in these “wasps” that Lobato is going to talk about that could compromise the Executive..
Óscar López, favorite to replace Lobato
Currently, no one heads the Madrid PSOE, but it is something that is provided for in the Statute. It is established that the director is the body that will be responsible for taking the reins of the party until the next PSOE Congress in Madrid, which will be held February 1 and 2. A manager who will directed by the former national deputy and current president of the Madrid Socialists, Isaura Leal Fernández. A very respected person at the PSOE in Madrid and very close to Pedro Sánchez.
For her part, the leader Isaura Leal Fernández, regarding what will happen now in the Madrid PSOE, affirms that the party “still has its organized procedures” and that they are “respectful” of what “marks its status”.
The manager will have to do a difficult job since she will be in charge of monopolize all the sensitivities of the party, as well as making the first decisions, such as choosing who will be the spokesperson for the PSOE in Madrid. Lobato will keep his seat in the Madrid Assembly, but he will obviously no longer be able to play this role. But he broke all the bridges in the formation after losing the confidence of the party and has not spoken with Pedro Sánchez since the start of the crisis.
As for the long term, Minister Óscar López presents himself as the big favorite and it is towards him that all eyes are turned. He remains silent for the moment and, this Wednesday, at the Congress of Deputies, he told the press that the time has now come for the Federal Congress. However, if you apply, you will need to submit your application next week, before December 7.
