Two Ciudadanos councilors in Madrid abandon Villacís and open the door to Almeida's PP

At 8:29 p.m. this Tuesday, the Councilor for Families and Equality and Social Welfare of the Madrid City Council, Pepe Aniorte, took a key step in his political stage.

The mayor of Ciudadanos requested his removal as a party affiliate.

His partner Angel Niño, from Innovation, also asked for his withdrawal from the party yesterday, according to sources from the formation.

Niño and Aniorte made their resignations from the party public only a few hours after EL PAÍS revealed that President Isabel Díaz Ayuso has authorized Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida to sign both of them for the next elections.

The PP finalizes a coup de effect for the May electoral lists with the incorporation of both to its May lists.

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PP coup against Citizens in Madrid: Ayuso authorizes Almeida to sign two Villacís councilors

Aniorte, who was an adviser to Deputy Mayor Begoña Villacís for four years in the opposition (2015-2019), has published three messages on his Twitter profile this afternoon, where he has close to 6,000 followers: "Today I have requested my withdrawal as a member of Citizens.

For the party, for my colleagues in the municipal group, for the neighboring members, for the affiliates and for Begoña Villacís I only have one word: thank you.

Thank you for your dedication."

Aniorte has added the reasons in a second message.

Until today the mayor of Ciudadanos has explained that the political moment that Spain is experiencing needs, in his opinion, the unity of the center-right.

“The election results since 2019 show that voters think the same.

And I think that social policy in favor of families will be decisive in the coming years”.

In the last and third message he leaves the doors open to continue in politics, but with another party.

“As a delegate of the social area of ​​the City Council, I maintain my commitment to work for Madrid families until the end of my mandate.

My wish is that what started in these four years continues in the future, and I am confident that I can contribute to it”.

The mayor of Madrid wants to count on Aniorte and the mayor Niño for his future lists, but only one last step was missing, and perhaps the most important: the approval of Ayuso.

The weight of the regional president and the party in Madrid is key in the preparation of the lists for Madrid for any signing.

According to PP sources, this step has already been taken a few days ago.

Ayuso welcomes the incorporation of these two Ciudadanos profiles into the Popular Party.

The deputy mayor of Madrid, Begoña Villacís, assured EL PAÍS just a few days ago that, if this operation were carried out, it would be a "betrayal" of Almeida and would mark a large part of his electoral campaign.

Villacís is, once again, a candidate for mayor with Ciudadanos.

The PP will officially announce its lists on April 24, according to party sources.

Today I have requested my withdrawal as a member of Ciudadanos.

For the party, for my colleagues in the municipal group, for the neighboring members, for the affiliates and for Begoña Villacís I only have one word: thank you.

Thank you for your trust and dedication.

— Pepe Aniorte Rueda 🇪🇸 (@AniortePepe) April 4, 2023

Sources from Ciudadanos assured this afternoon that the end of the coalition of PP and Ciudadanos in the Government of the Madrid City Council was already facing the final stretch of the mandate - there are less than 60 days left for the elections - and they would not understand these signings.

“We are in the final stretch, we have shown loyalty.

It would be very unwise."

The reality is that the buzz in the Madrid City Hall had been evident for weeks.

Above all, with the mayor Aniorte, and even more so after Almeida's latest advertising campaign, which left no room for doubt.

On March 22, the team of advisers to the mayor of Madrid presented the first slogan of the PP before the elections in a large hall of the building of municipal groups in the capital: "Madrid Moment."

The motto was accompanied by five posters.

They all wore Almeida's face in different shots and landscapes.

Almeida running through the San Silvestre Vallecana;

Almeida, in a blue suit looking at the horizon;

Almeida, with a smiling face;

Almeida, in profile.

But one of the posters was stamped with an electoral nod to one of these two Ciudadanos councillors.

Nothing seemed casual.

It was a clear and very explicit reference to the current mayor of Families.

"For the first time," said the image with the face of the mayor of Madrid, "the capital exceeds 1,000 million euros allocated to social policies."

This poster, say municipal sources, was not chosen at random.

City Hall sources openly acknowledge that Aniorte would be a good signing for the PP.

Other voices say that, regardless of whether it is or not, the reality is that the Families portfolio does not have its own profile among the popular ones.

The rapprochement between Aniorte and Almeida is such that last Friday, for example, Aniorte attended an event for the Madrid mayor at a private university.

The still Ciudadanos councilor attended the event in silence, without having previously incorporated it into his public agenda.

After Almeida's talk, he uploaded the mayor's photo to his Twitter profile.

Winks, gestures, movements.

Politics, after all.

Niño like Aniorte are already history in Ciudadanos.

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