José Ramón Bauzá, the former president of the Balearics, has publicly announced that he intends to stand for election as president of the Partido Popular at its regional congress next year.
Bauzá, currently a senator for the Balearics in Madrid, said today that he has "learned from a distance" and "from mistakes", stressing that his candidature will be "open to everyone". He added that over the past year he had stayed in the background. Now that there is a new PP government in Madrid, he suggested, the time was more appropriate for him to step forward.
He said that he looks forward to the congress with more eagerness than previous ones, stating that he believes that he is the ideal candidate because of his previously having presided over the PP.
Having stayed in the background, he observed, has allowed him to step away from the "mess" which otherwise might not be perceived. This perspective has enabled him to evaluate what was done during his presidency, which was to tackle the crisis and the "disastrous numbers" that were inherited.
He added that he already has support within the PP at national level and from regional presidents, though he did not detail what support there might be among the leadership in the Balearics. However, he noted that if there wasn't support, he wouldn't have called a press conference.
Bauzá explained that he had met with the former tourism minister, Jaime Martínez, on Friday, someone with whom he shares "a high percentage of concerns" and intends to work with closely. He added that he will be phoning the acting president of the PP, Miquel Vidal, and the general secretary, Sebastià Sagreras.
His wish is for a single candidate, i.e. himself, to be presented at the congress, who will lead the PP into the 2019 elections. Asked if he would be willing to join with another candidate, he replied that "I'm coming to lead a project".