Alberto Núñez Feijóo has put Ceuta and corruption at the centre of the opening campaign. His proposals range from tighter border controls to housing and new police infrastructure.
Within hours of the Boletín Oficial del Estado publishing the election decree on Tuesday, the PP filed a submission with the Audiencia Nacional. It is seeking the imputation of the PSOE in the Leire case for five offences.
That legal move came as Alberto Núñez Feijóo opened the electoral campaign in Ceuta with Juan Jesús Vivas. The PP leader presented measures he says would reach the first Consejo de Ministros of a government led by him. He also placed the corruption cases surrounding Pedro Sánchez at the centre of the campaign.
The strategy takes the campaign beyond the housing crisis without dropping the issue. The PP says it is comfortable discussing housing and points to a programme built around one million homes, a reform of the Ley del Suelo, an anti-squatting law and lower taxes.
Ceuta's local authorities reported 2,827 migrant minors in the city while the stated capacity of its care facilities was just 29 places, highlighting the pressure on the protection system.
Ceuta is the sharper political front.
Feijóo proposed a new Ley de Extranjería that would allow immediate returns. He also called for stronger border surveillance, more personnel and better monitoring systems. His plan would extend the Tarajal breakwater to control entries by land and sea.
The proposal is tied to the Supreme Court's ruling on procedures for returning migrant minors. The PP parliamentary group has already registered a related initiative. The full text of the proposed reform has not appeared in the available independent reports, so its exact conditions remain unclear.
Feijóo again said he would consider Article 8 of the Constitución if a crisis like the mass entry at the end of July happened again. Article 8 defines the Armed Forces' responsibilities as protecting Spain's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and constitutional order. The reports do not set out a legal mechanism for applying it to a migration situation in Ceuta.
The security package also includes a new Policía station, a new Guardia Civil command and a single military base. Feijóo said the only solution was for the 15,000 irregular migrants he referred to as being on Ceuta's streets to leave the city.
The proposed formula of immediate returns raises questions beyond Spain's immigration law: it would have to be assessed alongside asylum procedures, judicial guarantees and the specific protections applying to unaccompanied minors. Available independent reports do not set out the operational mechanism for the measure.
The wider package goes beyond security. The PP leader wants to reinforce public hospital staff, develop 8,000 homes and create a new tax framework for the digital economy.
He also wants to bring tourism investment to the Parador and other city assets. The plan directs resources towards employment, training and the port in an effort to retain talent. Feijóo says border control must remain a direct responsibility of the Spanish Government rather than being effectively transferred to a neighbouring state. He has also criticised the existing floating structure and called for permanent engineering works at Tarajal.
Reports about the events at the end of July have cited approximately 80,000 arrivals. That figure is not confirmed by official statistics available in the research material. Regional media also reported that thousands remained in the city and hid in residential areas after being removed from Trampolín beach. No independent precise count of the adults and minors still in Ceuta is available.
The party is also preparing for a potentially decisive judicial moment. The case has a key hearing on Thursday with Beatriz Biedma, who is the instructor in the David Sánchez case and one of the alleged victims in the Leire proceedings. The PP argues that the election timetable could affect the timing of a judge's decision on the PSOE's possible imputation.
Feijóo has framed the election call through corruption rather than housing. He says Sánchez was driven by fear of the corruption cases, while housing remains the leading concern identified by the CIS.
The PP's campaign machinery is now being set up around that message. Its Junta Directiva will meet on Thursday with the regional leaders. Alma Ezcurra is due to oversee the programme, while Ester Muñoz is expected to serve as spokesperson alongside Borja Sémper. On Saturday, Feijóo will appear in Madrid with Isabel Díaz Ayuso in a city that has 38 seats.
Ayuso has already questioned the security of postal voting. Feijóo said he would ask the Junta Electoral Central to strengthen the system's guarantees. He also questioned confidence in Correos executives after former president Juanma Serrano was imputed in the Leire case.
The opening campaign therefore rests on two visible commitments: a security and investment plan for Ceuta, and a judicial offensive against the Government's political environment. Feijóo is presenting Ceuta as a test of state authority and the corruption cases as a test of institutional credibility, while keeping housing as the PP's economic and social alternative.
