Former Socialist ministers launch manifesto ahead of leadership race

No sooner had Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy been voted in by parliament as prime minister on Tuesday, than a group of 20 or so members of the Socialist Party (PSOE) got to work. Via social networks and microblogging sites, such as Twitter, they released a seven-page manifesto designed to kick-start debate among the party, with an eye on the upcoming PSOE congress, scheduled for the first week of February, where the future leadership and direction of the party will be agreed.

The most high-profile politician among the group is former Defense Minister Carme Chacón, who came close to running for party leader ahead of the recent elections, but bowed out under pressure from senior party figures. Inquiries to other members of the group, made by EL PAÍS, revealed that the move as it stands is not a platform to launch Chacón's candidacy - for now. But they didn't deny that the group could, in the future, become a support base for her.

What did become clear from talking to the signatories of the manifesto, however, is that there is another motivation behind the document. "We are taking too long to give an answer to the seven million people who voted for us in a critical manner and are waiting for us to enter into a debate after the Socialists' biggest crisis since the return of democracy," said Juan Fernando López Aguilar, head of the PSOE's euro deputies.

The words of López Aguilar, as well as the sentiment of the manifesto - named Mucho PSOE por hacer (roughly translated as "A lot of work needed to build the Socialist Party") - hint at the need to rebuild the party from scratch. They got everything wrong, judging by the declaration. "Before the citizens moved away from us, we moved away from the citizens," the document reads. "The loss of credibility and coherence has been the fruit of the erosion of our democratic mechanisms and of the progressive social isolation of our party."

Among the signatories is former Justice Minister Francisco Caamaño, who is acting as the coordinator of this group, which began working together weeks ago.

"We cannot solely blame the crisis for the loss of support," the document reads, in reference to the huge losses incurred by the party both in regional and local elections earlier this year, and the general elections, held on November 20. "The management of the crisis was another reason for our defeat. Another factor has been our loss of credibility over recent years." The document hints at ex-Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's unwillingness to admit that there was a crisis, "as all citizens knew."