Cuca Gamarra steps back from the PP general secretariat to assist Feijóo in the transition.

It was an open secret within the PP that Cuca Gamarra would step down as secretary general after this weekend’s congress. The Rioja MP had taken on the role in 2022, serving as a transitional figure following the abrupt fall of Pablo Casado from the leadership of the PP, of which she was also a part. Alberto Núñez Feijóo elevated her to that position to project an image of openness after arriving in Madrid with his team from the Xunta de Galicia. However, it was common knowledge within the PP that Gamarra had failed to enter the inner circle of trust surrounding the PP leader, and it weighed heavily on her that she had been affiliated with everyone and no one. Anticipating her expected replacement, she preemptively announced a quietly negotiated departure with Feijóo. She arrived quietly and has now stepped back just as quietly.

The still-secretary general will remain on Feijóo’s steering committee, but her rank will be reduced, and she will take over the Justice area currently held by Esteban González Pons. Her dismissal confirms that the PP leader plans a deep restructuring of his leadership, to surround Pedro Sánchez in the final battle for power.

On Monday, Gamarra explained that she and Feijóo agreed that “it’s time for a different stage” after the congress, and as she recounted, she asked to step back, which he accepted. However, other party sources indicate that Gamarra has essentially withdrawn before being asked to leave because everyone in the PP knew Feijóo was considering assigning organic authority to Miguel Tellado, who already effectively serves as his number two. “I am a party person, a team player,” the Rioja leader emphasized on Monday during a statement at the PP headquarters on Calle Génova. “In politics, you must be there to serve, not to be served,” she reflected, before expressing her “availability to the party” for any new tasks assigned to her.

Gamarra has accepted a rather unusual move to continue on Feijóo’s steering committee in a position below the one she held, which is still to be defined, although it could be a deputy secretary position. The still-secretary general is a survivor in the PP, as she supported Casado until the very end and then quickly shifted her support to Feijóo. “She has been with everyone, and that breeds distrust,” reasons an MP on why she will not continue as number two. Gamarra never truly found rapport with Tellado, who replaced her as spokesperson in Congress, and that internal battle has also weighed on her. Tellado belongs to Feijóo’s inner circle of power, which the Rioja politician could not penetrate.

A year ago, the PP leader considered the option of replacing Gamarra with Tellado but ultimately decided against it. The secretary general position can only be renewed at a party congress, so the moment has now arrived.

Gamarra’s replacement was almost a given within the PP, although her placement raised doubts since it’s not easy to reassign a departing secretary general. However, she does not seem to have raised any objections. Her step back clears the way for the leader to appoint someone he fully trusts to that position.

The majority in the PP point to the current parliamentary spokesperson, Miguel Tellado, as a likely candidate for this task, a loyal supporter of Feijóo. He has been alongside him for more than a decade, having been elevated in 2014 to spokesperson for the PP in the Galician Parliament to serve as a whip against the opposition. Additionally, Feijóo appointed him secretary general of the PP in Galicia, and he is the architect of sensitive internal negotiations such as Pablo Casado’s downfall. Now he continues to handle the most sensitive organic tasks, even though his official title is parliamentary spokesperson. For example, he has been responsible for gathering Feijóo’s endorsements for this congress, even though the PP leader presents himself without a rival.

Tellado will take on more responsibilities in Génova, according to sources from the leadership. Some regional leaders are wary of him becoming secretary general due to the excessive concentration of power from Galicia in the PP’s upper echelons and the perception that he does not project an image of renewal. However, Feijóo knows he has the freedom to form his team because the PP has granted him the authority to ensure that, this time for sure, they reach La Moncloa. The PP leader is preparing a leadership team without quotas or balances and has already begun dismantling the first tower.