Alberto Núñez Feijóo has presented this Friday in Madrid the new foundation of the PP, which will be called Reformismo21 and which was created with an Advisory Council made up of 21 leaders of civil society. More than a new think tank, it is actually a reformulation of Concordia y Libertad, which in turn resulted from renaming Humanismo y Democracia. He means by this that, since Faes broke ties with the PP, Genoa has not found the key to have a solvent laboratory of ideas.
And that is what Feijóo wants to solve in his new foundation, which will be directed by the former president of Renfe Pablo Vázquez. To this end, it has managed to recruit three former Spanish ministers -Fátima Báñez, Román Escolano and Josep Piqué-, one Portuguese -Nuno Crato- and 17 technical or intellectual profiles from civil society, of which only Elena Pisonero has ties to the PP. So that 80% of the members of the foundation were until now outside the party.
Of those profiles, Toni Nadal, Rafa Nadal's uncle and former coach; the director of Telefónica Verónica Pascual: the founder of the National Transplant Organization Rafael Matesanz; the professor of Administrative Law Mercedes Fuertes; and a last-minute signing: the philosopher and education expert Gregorio Luri. The diplomat and columnist for this newspaper, Juan Claudio de Ramón, has also joined.
What Feijóo longs for is that "out of everything that this foundation gives of itself, a hypothetical government project comes out." "I want to be prepared to govern from minute 1", he stressed, because, if he wins and adds the parliamentary majority, his Executive "will promote thoughtful reforms, far from the daily thaumaturgical announcement to which we have become accustomed."
The PP did not want to hold the event at the Genoa headquarters, precisely to underline the independence of this foundation "attached" to the party. "This task does not fit in a single acronym," Feijóo defended during his speech, broadcast by streaming. And that is why the foundation presents itself "without militancy." "The only condition is that they express their opinion with absolute freedom of criteria, not to improve the PP, but Spain."
In the cool part of his speech, Feijóo has solemnized the PP's commitment to "flee from chapels and ideological factions." "It's time to get out of the trenches and rebuild with laws and civic values. Values are the foundations with which Spain must be built", he has reeled off.
Reformismo21 still does not have a headquarters, nor a board of trustees, nor has it defined what publications and acts it wants to do. It will have it in the coming weeks: it will be a small group of leaders who will carry out the "day to day" of the entity. And "in the medium term" the Advisory Council presented this Friday will be expanded.
The foundation wants to be "complementary" to Faes, José María Aznar's think tank, which has a highly marked ideological and international profile. Reformismo21 wants to be more of a hotbed of ideas that, in addition, will help the PP to connect more with civil society, according to the sources consulted.
For Feijóo, the 21 members of his council of wise men make up "a united and exemplary national team of Spain." "This advisory council is made up of people who arouse a high degree of professional recognition in sectors such as science, thought, business or sport", he has detailed, among others. And they are all united by "an irrevocable commitment to the public good."
The president of the PP has explained to his advisers where he wants to place his work: "The center is not just an ideological point, even though I find myself more comfortable in moderation. It is not just a way of doing politics." "If we want our country to have a future, it is necessary to close the chapter on confrontation and enter a phase without labels, in which Spaniards cooperate with each other and find themselves in the idea of a common nation," he has developed.
"We do not aspire to take refuge in dogmas or in the comfort of slogans," he concluded, because "the best moments in the country coincide with reformist moments." Hence the name.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
