PPD and ratification of its position in favor of two lists: Party seeks to distance itself from the PC and radical positions

Finally, and despite the attempts to promote unity within the government alliance, the PDP board of directors ratified on Friday the decision of the party’s National Council to bet on two official lists and agree with the Radical Party (PR) and the DC for the elections of constitutional councilors. In this regard, the president of the party, Natalia Piergentilli, denied the rumor about possible pressures that a group of PPD leaders, including former ministers and other historical figures such as Guido Girardi, would have exerted in the last few hours to turn towards the single list.
In this regard, the PDP helmsman stated that “conversations always occur in politics, the point is that there are certain things that do not have a setback, for obvious reasons (…) For us it was a surprise that the PS did not continue on the list of Democratic Socialism, since on many occasions it assured so. But party decisions depend not only on allies, but also on convictions. We continue to believe that this position will help conquer a large majority of Chileans. We are betting on a broad unity, not a reduced unit,” said Piergentilli, who confirmed that she will compete as a candidate for the Constitutional Council for the Metropolitan Region.
In this context, a source within the party said that the PS’s decision to agree with Apruebo Dignidad caused a strong shake-up that caused the electoral outlook not to be entirely promising for the PPD, considering its eventual alliance only with the DC and the Radical Party. But from the collectivity they consider that, despite the adversities they could face, it is relevant to reaffirm their conviction around the two lists, in the sense of reviving a centrist alliance that distances itself from extreme positions.
The same source recalled that the support base of Democratic Socialism was fundamental for the election of Gabriel Boric in the second round, since in his opinion, in the first round it was demonstrated that between the PC and the Broad Front they did not add more than 25% of citizen support, and that the determining factor in the triumph in these presidential elections was the electorate of the center-left parties. Hence, for them it is essential to differentiate themselves and generate an electoral alternative, which in their opinion has no relation to support for the Government’s political project, which is not in question.
In this regard, the idea of differentiating oneself has to do, according to the source close to the PDP board of directors, with reinstalling a space of representation linked to the political center, which incorporates the Christian Democracy. In his opinion, his vision regarding the search for democratic agreements distances himself from the discourse of collectivities of Apruebo Dignidad, especially the Communist Party. “The PC was not on the democratic path to defeat Pinochet and was not part of the political agreement in the heat of the social outbreak. There is not much in common between them and us,” he said.
Finally, and in relation to the role played by Interior Minister Carolina Tohá, being one of the proponents of the unitary list in the ruling party, contravening the position of her party, from the PPD they consider that it is correct for Tohá to prioritize her role as Secretary of State over her militancy, since her duty as minister is, precisely, to support the decisions of the President. In this case, in relation to a desperate attempt to summon unity in a fragmented ruling party.
 
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Original source in Spanish