“My future is in Brussels, by statute I cannot be a candidate,” says the MEP and candidate for party secretary general.
drián Vázquez Lázara (Madrid, 1982) is the main bet to revive Ciudadanos after the orange party primaries on January 10 and 11. Married, no children, reader of historical topics, devotee of Bob Caro’s three-volume biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, consumer of Amin Maalouf’s novels and fan of Dépor —”when I play the games, I always wear my football shirt.” Valerón »-, just the return of Lucas Pérez, «let me thank him for what he has done, it is incredible, very meritorious», it takes a few seconds of attention from the great challenge of refloating Cs.
Lucas arrives to help Dépor out of purgatory. Does it have a fix Citizens?
“I think so, honestly. If we don’t manage to come back, thousands of voters like me of liberal ideas would be left with no one to vote for, orphans of an option that is key to the future. We cannot continue to be in the hands of peripheral nationalisms or exclusive populisms to the right and left, such as Podemos and Vox. Ciudadanos must continue to be an option to guarantee respect for the Constitution, the separation of powers and the defense of the interests of Spain.
But Ciudadanos does not stop losing representation and militancy. In just three years it has gone from almost 22,000 affiliates to just over 7,000.
—It is that many things have been done very badly, many mistakes have been made and, the truth is that we have been penalized a lot. Our work has not been recognized in all these years. We go to the institutions to work for everyone, not to place friends, as the PSOE or the PP do, but, despite all our achievements in Spain and in Europe, we continue to be punished by the electorate.
And what can your candidacy contribute?
Our candidacy is a team one, with a radical change of faces and ways of doing things.
But Inés Arrimadas continues.
In a symbolic position, closing, as I would have liked Edmundo Bal to be penultimate. The permanent list is fifteen people, who are going to occupy secretaries if we receive the support of the militants. We are new people, but with many years of militancy in Ciudadanos and experience in politics. And in the entire candidacy there are three free positions to be able to integrate members of the other two lists if they want to collaborate in the new project.
But it is a way for Inés Arrimadas to continue.
It is that we are not kamikazes to dispense with the talent of our best values. Inés is, and she will continue to be our spokesperson in Congress, just as I hope Edmundo Bal will continue to be our vice-spokesperson.
Will Arrimadas be the candidate for the presidency of the Government again?
“Let me tell you that I haven’t spent a single second thinking about that yet.” Our Rubicon is the municipal and regional elections on May 28, where I am convinced that we are going to surprise and get many more votes than the polls suggest.
What Objectives Are Set?
To be decisive in many governments, both municipal and regional, and demonstrate our usefulness.
“And if they don’t?”
“I don’t even think about it. It is true that if the results are bad, the future would be more complicated, but I don’t even consider it. Neither when I go to bed nor when I get up do I have a minute left to think that this is going to go wrong.
Does that mean that if Ciudadanos fails in the municipal elections, it could not run in the general elections in November?
It is that I insist that I do not consider a scenario in which we are not capable of turning this situation around. We are going to resist and surprise.
He has not clarified if Arrimadas will be the candidate for Moncloa. Will you?
-I could not. Due to the new statutes that will be approved at the party congress, the general secretary cannot be a candidate, although it is true that this point has been amended. But I don’t have time, I already assume the candidacy for the general secretary as an enormous personal sacrifice with the support of my whole family, because I will have to dedicate a lot of time to organic work.
“And who is your ideal candidate?”
Honestly, I only have my mind set on the municipal and regional elections on May 28. I haven’t spent a minute thinking about it yet, but at Ciudadanos there are a lot of talented and well-trained people, like the spokesman in Congress, Guillermo Díaz, or Nacho Martín Blanco, our spokesman in the Catalan Parliament.
Is it Possible to Reunite Cs?
Of course, we are in an internal democratic process. And, although some try to sell confrontation and war, democracy is to compete. I am sure that we will have all the talent of the game if we win. Just as we will put ourselves at the command of any other candidate if we are not endorsed by the militants in the process.
A Long History in Europe And a Family With a Great Political Vocation
Adrián Vázquez proudly boasts of his family roots in the Deza region: «Vázquez is from Lalín, from the parish of Bermás, like the Minister of Culture, Román Rodríguez; and the Lázara, from Silleda. In fact, we are the only ones in Spain with that last name. Politics is an inevitability in his family. His uncle Cristóbal was leader of the PSOE in Lalín, where he now occupies a position as councilor in the opposition, while another of his relatives, Ignacio, also has a record, in this case, for the PP, in silleda.
Regarding his future, Adrián Vázquez insists that he will continue in Europe. «I am the head of the Citizens’ delegation in the European Parliament and I have spent fifteen years in various positions, in NATO, in the OSCE, in Bosnia… I have also been to the United States and I believe that my future will continue to be linked to the EU . The most immediate thing is a meeting this Monday with the Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders, to denounce the attempted assault on the Judiciary by this Government, “says the aspirant to revive Ciudadanos.
This article is originally published on lavozdegalicia.es
