Sánchez seeks a reset: a woman to replace Cerdán in Spain's PSOE

Sánchez plays his last cards: a strong woman to clean up the PSOE

Pedro Sánchez is putting the finishing touches to a rapid reorganisation of Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE) ahead of its congress on 5 July. The goal: to replace Santos Cerdán as Organisation Secretary with a woman who can restore the party's feminist pride, battered after the sens conversations between Ábalos and Koldo. The operation aims to halt the fall in popularity and the internal bleeding.

The new female appointee would be tasked with cleaning up the image of the party leadership. Among the names circulating, María Jesús Montero was the early favourite, but her candidacy for the Junta de Andalucía (the Andalusian regional government) —proclaimed without primaries— rules her out. Other options such as Jessica, Carlota or even Begoña appear on the shortlists, although none has been officially confirmed.

The purge does not stop at Cerdán. Sánchez has already told at least five trusted aides of the former number three that they will not be part of the new executive. Among them are Juanfran Serrano, until now the number two of the Organisation Secretariat, and Javier Cendón, science secretary and Cerdán's man in León. The move also seeks to comply with the statutory limits on executive board members.

With female voters accounting for around 60% of the socialist vote, the strategy makes electoral sense. But the question that remains is whether a simple change of faces will be enough to end the wear and tear caused by the 'Koldo case' and the constant internal leaks.