Drums of War in Alicante's PSOE: One Against All and All Against One

The PSOE of Alicante, however, has once again caused a stir. The resignation of the general secretary, Miguel Millana, a month before the assembly was to be held, is undoubtedly a setback in a general and regional political scenario where unity and solidarity are demanded. This has been the approach of the socialists at all levels, from Pedro Sánchez to Diana Morant and Rubén Alfaro.

When it has come to a vote, as in the case of the province of Valencia, it has been poorly received. In Pedro Sánchez's PSOE, alternatives are not welcome. Therefore, an agreement has always been forced.

The latest was in Vega Baja, where up to three candidates were proposed. However, it was not the preference of the PSPV leadership. Alicante members of the national executive intervened to force a new pact by which Joaquín Hernández, mayor of Dolores, will repeat as regional secretary. Pilar Gay from Guardamar will be the Organization Secretary. The third candidate, from Callosa de Segura, will ultimately not enter the fray.

The majority family, led by Ángel Franco, had been preparing for months to replace Miguel Millana with Quico Fenollar. A personal recruit of Franco himself, whom he intends to lead to the candidacy for the Mayor of Alicante 2027, replacing Ana Barceló. But the families are moving to prevent it. Millana's resignation has been one of the last maneuvers with this objective.

Millana himself acknowledged last Thursday that he had been in contact with different factions since September to achieve "greater cohesion" and present an alternative of everyone against Fenollar.

Among the families of Alicante socialism, there is a murmur that, united, they can finally outmaneuver Franco and win an assembly. They believe that the majority faction "is no longer so majority" and has lost some of its strength in recent organizational calls. It is time, then, to make the 'sorpasso', something they have been desiring for decades.

Millana intended to gather around that figure the opposition to the majority option. But "it has been impossible," he acknowledged last Thursday, so he preferred to step aside and let the PSPV oversee the local group in the belief that it can diminish Franco's influence.

The fact is that, ahead of the call for the local assembly in Alicante, parallel movements were already taking place while Millana tried to lead the alternative. One of the latest occurred last week, with the presence of the Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, at a meeting organized at Casa Mediterráneo with immigrant groups from the city to explain the policies of Pedro Sánchez's government on the matter.

A fruitful meeting, in which the high-ranking Ministry official met with part of the numerous associations in the provincial capital thanks to the PSOE's mobilization effort in Alicante, which filled the auditorium.

Important as this meeting was, it was no less significant than the lunch that took place after the meeting. According to TodoAlicante, the meeting was attended by the leaders of different socialist families with a regional deputy from Elche close to Alejandro Soler.

This meeting has only fueled speculation about an alternative candidacy sponsored by the man from Elche. The relationship between Soler and Franco has gone through different phases. The latest, of alliances until the Alicante native stopped supporting the former mayor of Elche in favor of Diana Morant for the general secretary of the PSPV. The agreement included the position of Secretary of Municipal Policy that Soler now holds in the federal socialist executive.

From his office in Ferraz, Soler keeps a close eye on what is happening in the province. Behind the operation in Vega Baja, dismantled after the agreement signed this week, some also see the influence of the former mayor of Elche. Moreover, Soler believes he owes Franco one, so no one in the party is surprised that he is behind collecting the piece.

The process of electing a general secretary in Alicante has not yet begun, now it will be delayed until the establishment of a management committee, but the drums of war are already here. It is the first serious organizational problem that the new provincial general secretary, Rubén Alfaro, will have to face.