EPP’s Valencia congress dilemma: Mortifying protests or costly rethink

The European People’s Party’s big moment in the Spanish sun looks set to be washed out by a fiasco of its own making.

When the EPP’s Spanish branch, Partido Popular, chose the Mediterranean city of Valencia to host the wider party’s annual congress April 29-30, it envisaged a display of dominance in a city and region that it snatched away from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party only two years ago. 

But with weeks to go until the big event, EPP leaders are now scrambling to switch cities at the last minute. The party congress otherwise risks being overshadowed by protests over the Partido Popular’s botched handling of devastating floods last year. 

It’s not only local embarrassment that the EPP brass is hoping to avoid. Politically it would be a non-starter for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s Chancellor-elect Friedrich Merz and EPP President Manfred Weber to have their grand plans for Europe overshadowed by street protests and potential indictments of the party’s Valencia representatives.

On the other hand, shifting the event to Madrid could prove ruinously expensive for the EPP, which is largely funded by European taxpayers, and especially for the Partido Popular, which is co-hosting the event. 

“If our Spanish colleagues prefer to have it in Madrid, we are ready to support this,” a senior EPP lawmaker said, adding there will be “penalties” for canceling contracts at the last minute.

The contretemps is the latest in a series of internal dustups in a party that dominates EU politics and steers the bloc’s policymaking institutions.

Last-minute change

The leader of the center-right EPP’s Spanish affiliate, Alberto Núñez-Feijóo, appeared set on holding the big party in Valencia, even after floods struck the region last October to claim the lives of 224 local citizens.

But cracks began to appear in Núñez-Feijóo’s resolve last week. During a meeting with journalists he revealed that a potential move away from Valencia was being discussed, allegedly because Spanish lawmakers needed to be in Madrid for a session of the country’s parliament that had been on the books since January. 

Moving the event so late will be costly, however, with questions lingering over who will cover the cancelation fees for the host venue, the hotels, the catering and countless other contracts. An EPP official said the party is not allowed to pay these expenses with EU funds.

With EPP money thus unavailable, the Partido Popular may wind up stuck with a massive bill, especially as it will likely have to co-finance the move to Madrid as well. According to the same EPP official, the contract between the EU and Spanish wings of the party clearly stipulates that both sides must pay their share.

Spanish EPP chief Núñez-Feijóo has stuck by Carlos Mazón. | Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

The Partido Popular did not reply to a request for comment by publication time. 

Valencia’s ongoing political crisis

The push to move the congress away from Valencia was driven by the regional government’s handling of October’s catastrophic floods. 

On Monday, the region’s former interior minister and a top emergency management official were named as suspects in an investigation into the failure of the administration to give the population adequate warning of the impending disaster. 

The judge overseeing the investigation said Regional President Carlos Mazón had only escaped similar treatment because the seniority of his post means he must be charged by Valencia’s Supreme Court. 

Anger at how the catastrophe was handled remains intense in Valencia. 

Last November, both Sánchez and Spain’s King Felipe VI were pelted with mud while visiting the communities affected. Since then, popular fury has centered on Mazón and his administration. 

Numerous mass demonstrations have demanded the government’s resignation, while the constant protests have led the regional president to avoid public appearances. 

Spanish EPP chief Núñez-Feijóo has stuck by Mazón, even after it was revealed the Valencian politician had remained at a private lunch while the rising flood waters claimed hundreds of lives. 

The display of loyalty is rooted in pragmatism: The center right leads a minority government in Valencia, and if the regional president resigned, the People’s Party could be booted from office. 

But while Núñez-Feijóo may not be ready to see Mazón go, that doesn’t mean he wants to appear next to him in public. Nor does he want to expose the EPP’s top brass to the protests the Valencian president would inevitably attract.