In a sober act, far removed from the 6,000 bagpipers who came to accompany Manuel Fraga in the Obradoiro, and under the gaze of the PP heavyweights, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Alfonso Rueda took office this Saturday as president from Galicia.
The veteran member of the Galician Government whose position has fallen into his hands when he did not expect it, one more consequence of the sudden crisis of the PP, has sworn in the position in the Salón dos Reis of the Galician Parliament without abandoning Feijóo's two mantras : promising to “govern from moderation” as the “best antidote against intransigence” and boasting of the “stability” that, in his opinion, the four absolute majorities that the PP chain imprint on the community.
But he has also included a warning.
Rueda assures that he reaches the top of the Xunta “free of mortgages”.
Rueda is the first president in the history of Galicia to take office due to the resignation of his predecessor.
A little more than two years of legislature lie ahead of him and the challenge of forming a "continuist" government that at the same time allows him to build his own profile and overcome the hyper-leadership that Feijóo has displayed during his 13 years at the head of the Xunta.
"In these years I have worried little about public relevance," admitted Rueda, who has justified it by his dedication as
number two
of the current leader of the PP: "I have been in the engine room for many years, now I have to go up to the command booth".
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Alfonso Rueda, the shadowy squire who already wields the Feijóo scepter
Half a thousand political and institutional officials and guests from the world of business and social organizations have attended the event, with the second vice president Yolanda Díaz as the highest representative of the central government.
In addition to the Madrid president, the new Galician baron of the PP has been supported by the president of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (PP), and that of Murcia, Fernando López Miras (PP), as well as the former president of the Government Mariano Rajoy.
Of the two former socialist presidents of the Xunta, Fernando González Laxe attended, but Emilio Pérez Touriño excused his presence.
In his speech, Rueda has criticized "adamism" as "one of the great evils of today's politics" and has proclaimed to Feijóo that he reaches the Presidency of the Xunta "mortgage-free" and "loaded with debts of gratitude" .
Faced with the "difficult social and economic context that Europe is experiencing", he has defended that "stability" is "more an obligation than a simple government option".
He has launched a message about the lack of a project that affects both the BNG and the PSdeG-PSOE: "Whoever confuses prudence with apathy or lack of ideas is mistaken: it is a necessary condition to prioritize the real needs of Galicians over dogmas , trivialities and ephemeral fads that sometimes flood public debate”.
And he has defended Felipe VI "against those who take advantage of the resources of the State to wear down the institutions."
The president of Castilla y Léon has promised that he will work "side by side" with the new head of the Galician Government in common interests such as the vindication of the railway investments of the Atlantic corridor compared to the Mediterranean and the new regional financing model.
Ayuso has highlighted that Rueda is a "hard-working man" and "a very good person", although he considers that it is "a bittersweet moment for Galicians" due to Feijóo's march: "Yesterday [for Friday] I was in the streets from Santiago and some Galicians scolded us because President Feijóo is leaving Galicia”.
Rueda is expected to announce the composition of his government this Sunday.
You said in your speech that you will give your all so that Galicia is proud of its president.
I know that you will do and that you will achieve because you will be the president of all Galicians.
I am proud of you.
President @AlfonsoRuedaGal, at your command.
pic.twitter.com/SeLAlUPqAI
– Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo) May 14, 2022