Rubalcaba will go for Socialist leadership post

Five weeks after his devastating defeat in the prime-ministerial race, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba has decided to run for the Socialist secretary-general's post at the party's convention in February.

Rubalcaba will make his official announcement on Thursday in Madrid, party sources said. He traveled to Seville on Tuesday to pass on his plans to José Antonio Griñán, the regional premier of Andalusia and currently the party's highest elected official.

With Rubalcaba's candidacy confirmed, the Socialists are most likely to engage in an intense internal battle among factions if former Defense Minister Carme Chacón follows through on her hints and also throws her hat into the ring. Last week, Chacón received buoyant support from a group of notable Socialist leaders, including leading euro deputy Juan Fernando López Aguilar, who joined her in signing a manifesto calling to rebuild the party from scratch.

However, Chacón and the rest of the two dozen Socialists who signed the document denied that it was meant to be interpreted as a sign that she will run.

Since the Socialist defeat at the polls on November 20, party members have been in disarray over who will be able to lead them for the next four years. The Socialists appear divided into two camps at this point - one supporting Rubalcaba, the other Chacón - but have been demanding that the two leaders make their decisions known as soon as possible so they can get on with the election of the 960 convention delegates, a process that is scheduled to begin on January 9.

The convention will be held February 3-5.

Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who stepped down from the Socialist leadership post, has said that he intends to remain neutral in the internal race. For his part, Griñán has publically commended both Rubalcaba and Chacón, and is under pressure to announce who he prefers to lead the party.