The Partido Popular ‘bottles it’ as Aparicio is moved upstairs
Despite the investigation of fraud currently being carried out by the Ministry of Health into the affairs of Orihuela mayor Emilio Bascuñana, who is alleged to have drawn a salary from the department for over 4 years, despite not going to work, the Partido Popular have now confirmed that he will head the Orihuela party list going into the municipal elections in May.
The announcement was made during a visit to the city on Monday by Teodoro Garcia Egea, number two of the national PP, as he strolled through the Palace of the Marquis of Arneva, the Plaza Nueva, prior to the pair taking lunch at the Casino, along with local PP President Damasio Aparicio, the provincial president José Císcar and the president of the Diputación, César Sánchez.
The party was out in force in Orihuela where, following a deep split that has divided the local group for over two years, the objective was to show a united front with the two antagonists Bascuñana and Aparicio walking side by side.
Only last week Aparicio announced that he too would run for the leadership with the support of the local electoral committee, but in direct contravention of the national party’s wishes, so his subsequent withdrawal, just hours before the announcement that he will instead be selected to run as a Provincial deputy seems just a little too convenient to swallow, rather than the coincidence that they all claim it to be.
But Garcia Egea insisted that the party in Orihuela is “united”, that there is no internal war and that he supports Bascuñana, despite the ongoing investigation by Health that could result in him being subjected to a future judicial investigation.
However, after Aparicio’s recent announcement that he would run for mayor, considered by many party activists to be a direct challenge to the party’s president, Pablo Casado, should he now be elevated to the Provincial Government, the question is “after doing a complete U turn and seemingly abandoning his local principles, just how far can he still advance up the greasy pole of political life?
On reflection perhaps the headline should be “The Partido Popular, a party where egos are placed before the interests of the people.”
