Fina Santiago says 'no' to Apesteguia: MÉS per Mallorca's candidate race

PalmMÁS per Mallorca has this week kicked off various primary processes. In a month's time, the lead candidates for the main candidacies will be proclaimed, but there are already some names appearing in the predictions. Lluís Apesteguia will repeat as the lead candidate for the Parliament. The mayor of Manacor, Miquel Oliver, is emerging as the option for the Consell de Mallorca, and among the options to replace him in the City Council, councilman Ferran Montero has gained strength. Palma is the big unknown: the leadership offered former councilwoman Fina Santiago to be number one, but she has not accepted the proposal. As a B option, the name of professor David Pujol is being considered. But this has a handicap: there would be no woman among the prominent lead candidates.

Palma is a key square for MÉS. Executive sources believe they have a golden opportunity in this city. The situation of the Socialist Party, with Iago Negueruela at the helm, gives oxygen to the eco-sovereignists. Although the current spokesperson for the PSIB in the Parliament and also former counselor of the Govern is known, various MÉS leaders consider him more distant from the Catalanist voter than other options from the socialists –like the foreseeable head of the list for the Consell, Amanda Fernández. “With a good candidate, we can grow,” predicts a source from the party.

However, the party's situation in the municipality is complex. The resignation of the current MÉS spokesperson for Palma, Neus Truyol, and her team, has forced them to look for alternatives. The party leader, Lluís Apesteguia, thought of placing Santiago as number one on the list. But the former counselor, for now, does not want to accept the assignment, as confirmed by various party sources. As an alternative, Professor David Pujol, linked to CUP Palma, has a profile that is “independent, Catalanist, and close to the alternative left” –he was linked to CUP Palma–, assures a source who knows him well. This covers the needs for voters and can also help in the party's negotiations with other groups –EUiA, Sumar, CUP, and Podem– with a view to a possible coalition. He would form a tandem with the party's coordinator in Palma, Xisca Mir.

Lack of female profiles

But if Pujol's signing is confirmed, MÉS will face the evidence of not having any woman as a lead candidate in the main institutions. According to various sources consulted, the party has failed in several signing attempts. As confirmed by ARA Balears, the formation has approached Margalida Ramis, who at the end of April left her position as spokesperson for the GOB, although these contacts have been informal and no clear proposal has been made to her yet.

Other top figures in the formation have also ruled out, for now, holding institutional positions. The current spokesperson for MÉS in the Consell, Catalina Inès Perelló, has expressed internally her desire to return to her work in the Administration. The president of Esquerra Republicana in the Balearic Islands and member of the MÉS executive, Carme Gomila, recently resigned from the Manacor council. Meanwhile, the current party leader in Sóller, Laura Celià, has announced she will not repeat. According to her explanation to ARA Balears, she has not yet decided if she would be willing to run on another list.

On the other hand, sources within the formation warn that the resolution of the unknown in Palma could end up affecting other lists. Although it is taken for granted in the Parliament that the candidacy will have Apesteguia as candidate and Maria Ramon as number two, Oliver's position in the Consell is not confirmed. "Perhaps she will have to make way for a woman," these sources consider. When she left the mayoralty of Manacor, Oliver was willing to join the Consell lists or the Parliament lists. Nevertheless, the resignation of the previous lead candidate, Jaume Alzamora, opened the door for her to the island institution. This continues to be the most probable option, but last-minute changes cannot be ruled out.

For its part, the Manacor group has formed an executive with twelve representatives to find a substitute for Oliver. The City Council is an emblematic scenario for MÉS, which managed to grow in votes in this municipality in 2023, in a context of general decline of the left in the Balearic Islands. As ARA Balears advanced, the preferred option is a candidacy formed by current councilors Ferran Montero and Joana Maria Llull, in that order. However, it is not the only possibility: the name of councilor Sebastià Llodrà, Oliver's right-hand man in the City Council, is also being mentioned.

The race has just begun and there are still more unknowns than certainties. Furthermore, at the party's assembly that took place this week, momentous issues were decided. On the one hand, the heads of list must present themselves in the primaries with a proposed running mate for number two on the list. On the other hand, local groups will be able to propose candidates for the Consell and the Parliament as well. Be that as it may, this is the starting lineup.