Armengol takes refuge in Madrid, but maintains control of the PSIB

PalmaPedro Sánchez will not repeat with Francina Armengol the strategy of entrusting the leadership of regional battles to his most mediatic allies. After the setback of sending the first vice-president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, to Andalusia and obtaining the lowest result in the party's history in the territory, the president of Congress will remain sheltered in Madrid and will be definitively tied to the PSOE's future in the general elections. In the Balearic Islands, the definitive confirmation that she will not run again in the regional elections has caused an internal upheaval. For this reason, she will remain as general secretary of the PSIB, to control her succession from the apparatus.

Armengol has waited until the last moment to decide whether to repeat as a candidate in the Balearic Islands, which has complicated the options for her substitute. If she wins the primaries, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, will have only ten months to make herself known to the electorate.

Despite the fact that the latest poll published by Última Hora predicts a drop in the PSIB from 18 to 14 deputies, the party denies that this has influenced Armengol's decision. Party sources assure that it had already been made at the beginning of 2026. She left some clues: for example, she progressively reduced her agenda in the Balearic Islands. On the other hand, the Secretary of State has been intensifying her public appearances in the Balearic Islands for months.

A future in Madrid

According to various sources consulted, Armengol's move to the Balearic Islands depended partly on the socialist's desire, but also on Ferraz's plans. What role does the PSOE reserve for the President of Congress? Armengol has already made it clear that she aspires to run in the general elections. Furthermore, socialist sources indicate that she could return to positions of responsibility if they achieve a good result at the polls: "She is one of the most prominent leaders in Pedro Sánchez's circle." Although, in the Balearic Islands, Armengol is experiencing the wear and tear of having governed for two terms, in the rest of Spain she represents a fresh profile that gives a voice to the periphery of the State, insist the same voices. Therefore, they predict an important role for her in the PSOE.

But this remains to be seen. Despite Armengol considering herself a figure close to Sánchez, she is far from his inner circle. The starting point of the socialist's relationship with the current president took place in 2016, during the traumatic federal committee that removed Sánchez from the party's general secretary. At that time, Armengol supported him and maintained her "no is no" stance against giving Mariano Rajoy a free rein to govern. However, when the battle of the 2017 primaries intensified, the socialist opted for the intermediate path between Sánchez and Susana Díaz and supported Patxi López's candidacy to lead the PSOE. Although she later aligned herself with Pedro Sánchez and has been a loyal ally, that episode shows that she was not part of the closest circle.

If the Spanish president called her to preside over Congress, it was for political strategy, at a time when he needed to build a plurinational majority. She was "the only candidate voteable" by his partners, recalls a sovereigntist deputy. "Armengol's rise is the culmination of 25 years of trajectory of the Socialist Party in the Islands, in which it has claimed a plural and federal vision of the country," assures a PSIB leader: "It represents a project that Francesc Antich already defended and is finally recognized in the State." This vision opened the doors of Congress for her in 2023. One of her first actions as President of the Chamber was to approve the change in regulations so that any of the co-official languages of the State could be spoken there. "It was a very important milestone," highlights her right-hand woman in the Islands, the PSIB spokesperson in Parliament, Iago Negueruela: "It gave her a high degree of recognition in territories like Galicia".

Bicephaly in the Islands

The main characteristic that both allies and adversaries highlight about Armengol is her oratory skill: “She is a political animal,” opines Juan Pedro Yllanes, former deputy of Podem and former minister of Ecological Transition under Armengol's presidency (2019-2023): “She had a great ability to understand politics.” He also highlights her solvency in managing the differences between the members of the Government coalition. “However complicated the moment was, she was very approachable,” adds the former Minister of the Presidency, Pilar Costa.

But the former president of the Balearic Islands – who had previously also chaired the Consell de Mallorca – would not have reached this point if she had not also been the great plumber of the PSIB. Despite renouncing institutional politics in the Balearic Islands, she will maintain her internal power and will oversee Rosario Sánchez's landing. “She has led the PSIB with a light touch, but with a strong hand,” assure socialist sources: “She has cohesed it a lot and has defused the fights between families.” The same voices highlight that she has surrounded herself with people who are “very loyal” to her: an example of this is the fact that her closest entourage is known as ‘the Francinos’. Therefore, the PSIB now faces the challenge of replacing a total leadership. “Behind Francina there is no one,” these same voices emphasize, who consider that the dual leadership should not last long: “She should take a step back, the PSIB must be rebuilt while in opposition.”