Following Miguel Ángel Gallardo's resignation after the PSOE's poor showing in Extremadura's regional elections, the party's national leadership has named José Luis Quintana—Government Delegate in the region and a close ally of Pedro Sánchez—as head of the interim committee. Quintana will oversee investiture negotiations and primaries until an extraordinary congress.
The PSOE's Ferraz headquarters announced the interim committee on December 24, two days after Gallardo stepped down amid the party's worst-ever regional election result (18 seats, down from previous highs).
Quintana, 75, from Don Benito and former mayor (2015-2023), has served as counselor for Agriculture and Development and deputy in Badajoz. A 'very close friend' of Sánchez, whose leadership ties trace back to Don Benito in 2017, he will guide the party with a sanchista-aligned team: María José Pulido, Gonzalo Romero, Carmen Yáñez, Pablo Iglesias Ordóñez, Ana María Fernández, José María Ramírez Morán, and Irene Pozas García.
Their tasks include managing investiture talks with PP's María Guardiola (who seeks to limit Vox's role) and organizing primaries. Potential candidates: Álvaro Sánchez Cotrina (Cáceres secretary), Blanca Martín (Assembly president), and Antonio Rodríguez Osuna (Mérida mayor).
The move asserts Ferraz's control, dismissing ex-leader Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra's call for PSOE abstention in Guardiola's investiture to secure pacts on key issues and counter Vox. Critics like Paco Castañares likened it to tight central oversight.
