Unannounced meeting in Madrid

Generalitat President Juanfran Pérez Llorca traveled to Madrid on 21 September 2026 for a meeting with Popular Party Secretary General Miguel Tellado at the party's Calle Génova headquarters. The gathering occurred while national party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo visited Ceuta with European People's Party President Manfred Weber. National PP officials stated that the discussion covered routine administrative matters of the Valencian Community and the regional party branch. Party spokespersons stated that the conversation did not address the candidate selection for the upcoming regional elections or the prospect of a regional congress. Pérez Llorca was invested as regional president in November 2025 after Carlos Mazón resigned following his administration's handling of the DANA flood disaster.

Internal delays and candidacy tensions

The absence of a formal endorsement from Feijóo has prolonged uncertainty within the Valencian branch of the party. Twelve Spanish autonomous communities hold elections on 23 May 2027, but the national leadership has delayed candidate ratifications to maintain attention on Ceuta. Detractors within the Valencian party submitted complaints regarding alleged improprieties in Pérez Llorca's political circle, which led the PP Organisation department to conduct internal inquiries. Concurrently, provincial leaders Vicent Mompó in Valencia, Toni Pérez in Alicante, and Marta Barrachina in Castellón have sought to secure influence over the composition of provincial deputations and parliamentary candidate lists. The national leadership has ruled out holding a regional congress, leaving list approvals under the authority of the National Electoral Committee.

Opposition criticism and regional calendar

The timing of the selection process intersects with key regional events. The Corts Valencianes opens its General Policy Debate on 28 September at 12:00, while Feijóo convenes the PP National Board of Directors in Madrid on the same day to back Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas. When reporters questioned Pérez Llorca on 18 September about the confirmation timeline, he deferred directly to the national leader.

“I think you should call Mr Feijóo.”

Opposition parties have targeted the selection delay. Compromís spokesperson Joan Baldoví criticized Pérez Llorca during an appearance in Elche on 21 September, asserting that the regional leader was awaiting instructions from Madrid.

“Pérez Llorca is already a president decided in an office in Madrid.”

Baldoví pointed to allegations involving an unauthorized swimming pool built during Pérez Llorca's mayoral tenure in Finestrat, a post assigned to his wife at the Valencia Provincial Council, and an unexplained ticket to a football World Cup final.

Broader ballot revisions across Valencian parties

Internal reorganizations extend across other Valencian political forces ahead of the autonomous and local elections. In the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV), Minister Diana Morant exercises authority over future ballots, replacing the candidate slates formed under former president Ximo Puig. Both Compromís and Vox also navigate shifted internal power structures compared to the May 2023 elections. With candidate lists beginning preparation over eight months before the vote, both the governing and opposition parties face extensive renewals of their parliamentary and municipal delegations.