Aznar y el PP
Cable de 2008 donde la Embajada se plantea la capacidad de Rajoy para seguir liderando al PP
Moragas: "No soy un "hombre de Rajoy". Ar¨ªstegui: "Rajoy parece estar culpando de los resultados electorales a todo el mundo menos a s¨ª mismo. Deber¨ªa abrir el congreso del partido a otras candidaturas"
| ID: | 153778 |
| Date: | 2008-05-14 08:15:00 |
| Origin: | 08MADRID537 |
| Source: | Embassy Madrid |
| Classification: | CONFIDENTIAL |
| Dunno: | |
| Destination: | VZCZCXRO3816 PP RUEHAG RUEHROV DE RUEHMD #0537/01 1350815 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 140815Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY MADRID TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4764 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3420 |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000537 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV, SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: TURMOIL WITHIN THE PARTIDO POPULAR--CAN RAJOY HOLD ON? MADRID 00000537 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: CDA Hugo Llorens for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (U) Two months after suffering a second straight defeat at the hands of President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, opposition Partido Popular (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy finds himself in the midst of a crisis that threatens the future of his party leadership. In the days following the March 9 general election, Rajoy announced that he would remain the PP leader--reminding Spanish citizens that Jose Maria Aznar lost two elections to Felipe Gonzalez before finally winning in 1996--and received the public support of nearly every senior party official. Rajoy then took steps to soften the party's tone and remake it in his own image, in an attempt to dilute the influence of Aznar. To that end, he eased out Congressional spokesman Eduardo Zaplana and Secretary General Angel Acebes and announced he would be taking the party in a new direction. 2. (U) The cracks in PP unity began to show on April 7, when Madrid Regional President (U.S. governor equivalent) Esperanza Aguirre refused to rule out a challenge to Rajoy at the upcoming party conference in June. The potential for a challenge to Rajoy's leadership was a major news story in Spain for the next several days, with some in the PP even discussing the feasibility of conducting a U.S.-style primary system to choose the party's next leader. Rajoy and his supporters tried to douse any speculation of a leadership change, but the crisis has not gone away. More wood was added to the fire on May 12 when the popular PP leader in the Basque Country, Maria San Gil, announced that she would not serve again on the committee drafting the party's political program because she no longer had confidence in Rajoy or his team. Immediately after this announcement, senior party officials including Aguirre, Acebes, Madrid Councilwoman (and wife of President Aznar) Ana Botella, and former Aznar Interior Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja, expressed their support for San Gil's decision and called on Rajoy to reflect on the current turmoil within his party. For the first time since the March 9 elections, we are now hearing serious speculation that Rajoy may not be able to hold on to power. 3. (C) During the week of May 5 (in the middle of the controversy over the future of Rajoy's leadership but before the uproar caused by the San Gil announcement), the Charge d'Affaires held separate meetings with Gustavo de Aristegui, PP Congressional Spokesman for Foreign Affairs, and Jorge Moragas, PP Director of International Relations and a key Rajoy advisor. Aristegui was very critical of Rajoy's actions in the wake of the electoral loss, saying that he seemed to be blaming everyone but himself for the results. He said Rajoy's actions to force out Zaplana and Acebes and bring in a new team were akin to the captain of a ship, not only abandoning ship, but leaving his crew in the sinking vessel. Aristegui said that Rajoy's lack of loyalty to those who had been with him all along was not sitting well with other PP leaders. He opined that Rajoy needed to open up the June party conference and allow all interested officials to present their candidacy for PP leadership. He said that if Rajoy was able to defeat challengers in a fair and open process, his leadership would no longer be questioned. Aristegui said that Rajoy may be able to maintain control beyond the June convention, but opposition to his leadership would grow if the PP does poorly in the next rounds of Spanish regional elections in the Basque Country (currently scheduled for April 2009) and Galicia (June 2009). It should be noted that Aristegui perhaps feels personally betrayed since Rajoy has clearly demoted him in the party's foreign policy circles. 4. (C) As expected, Moragas was more upbeat in his comments to the Charge and, while acknowledging that there were currently concerns about Rajoy's leadership, predicted that the party would eventually fall back in line. He said that in the coming weeks Rajoy would attempt to remain above the fray and look towards the next four years in opposition by issuing position papers on topics such as the economy, security, and regional issues. He said that President Zapatero and his Socialist government were in for a very rocky way ahead with the economy continuing to tank and key issues in Catalonia and the Basque Country coming to a head. He said it is more vital than ever for the party to remain united and seize the moment when Zapatero stumbles. Moragas said that he and Rajoy developed a close working relationship during the campaign and that he is now one of Rajoy's closest advisors. He added however that he was not a "Rajoy guy," but rather a loyal party member who responded when asked to serve. //COMMENT// MADRID 00000537 002.2 OF 002 5. (C) Rajoy does not posses great charisma, and many were surprised when former President Aznar hand-picked him as his successor in 2003. Many more were surprised when Rajoy did not bow out five years later after a second straight electoral loss. We believe Rajoy owes his longevity as much as anything to the lack of a credible successor within his own party. Would-be challengers such as Esperanza Aguirre, Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, or Valencia Regional President Francisco Camps all have their own drawbacks, and none enjoys the national stature of Rajoy (and both Ruiz-Gallardon and Camps appear to still be backing Rajoy). However, a groundswell of opposition may be building. Maria San Gil's public criticism of Rajoy's leadership was certainly noteworthy, but maybe more so is the number of senior PP leaders coming out of the woodwork to express solidarity with her, and to call on Rajoy to seriously respond to the current unease among the party faithful. Rajoy may hold onto power for the time being due to the lack of a viable alternative, but we agree that further losses in Spain's regional elections over the next two years will make it difficult for him to remain the PP's national candidate in 2012. PP leaders have traditionally been members of Congress due to the visibility afforded and the need for the opposition leader to be able to confront the sitting president directly in weekly debates, but some credible voices are mentioning the name of former IMF director and past Spanish Vice President Rodrigo Rato (now in the private sector) as a possible candidate to lead the party into the future. Llorens |
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