The long shadow of Aznar

Madrid / BarcelonaFormer Spanish President José María Aznar has never disappeared from the political arena, even though he left the front line in 2004, when he left the Moncloa Palace. In public appearances, interviews, and through the foundation he chairs, the FAES contributes to the battle of ideas on the Spanish right. This week, for example, he did so again, when he asserted that the pact between the PSOE and Junts on immigration is "much more serious than the coup d'état" of October 1. His words also resonated strongly, especially within the PP, when he spoke out against the amnesty with a forceful "Whoever can do something, let them do it; whoever can contribute, let them contribute; whoever can move, let them move." Aznar's long shadow remains on the PP; but what is his influence?

Very recently, it emerged that the former PP president acted as an intermediary between the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo's PP. in the face of the anger it generated in the Caribbean country that the island's name appeared in a video released by the party on social media to denounce alleged corruption within the PSOE. Sources in Genoa consulted by ARA deny that Aznar has a habit of getting involved in internal affairs. His role is limited to that of a former president, and he does not exercise any direct influence on Feijóo's decision-making, with whom, however, according to those closest to the current PP leader, he maintains an "excellent" relationship of "closeness" and "respect."

"Feijóo has managed to normalize the party's relationship with its former presidents," claim the PP leadership, who consider that a period of "peace" has now been reached. During Mariano Rajoy's term, they recall within the party, clashes with Aznar were a constant. Feijóo managed to bring them together at a single event in early 2023, once Pablo Casado was ousted, which led to an image that had not been seen for years. A voice from Rajoy's team still active remembers how during his time he "nagged" them. "He publicly told Mariano what he was going to do," they recall with weariness due to this constant "interventionism."

One of the keys provided by several of the sources consulted to defend that he does not have a "very great" influence is that the PP, under Feijóo's leadership, has promoted the Reformismo 21 foundation, with a pragmatic attitude, unlike Aznar's FAES. However, from the more moderate wing of Génova they celebrate that in recent times the former president, who represents the hardline wing of the party, is highly critical of the drift of Vox and its international alliancesAlthough Aznar "has nothing to say within the party" and "has little or no influence," according to a moderate voice within the Catalan PP, his public stance not being contrary to them is a factor that benefits them.

Sources within the Catalan PP believe that Aznar's diagnosis of international politics is "resonating" within the party: his denouncing "where the world is going," criticizing Donald Trump, and being very harsh on Vox for its alliance with the US president. "The hardest-line sector of the PP is the one that is warning about this the most," they comment, due to Aznar's profile with a certain ascendancy, especially in sectors of the party's more right-wing wing. The same sources cite as examples the harshness of Isabel Díaz Ayuso or Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo with the far right, which they see as increasingly distant from the PP.

Aznar-Ayuso-Fernández

In Génova, they believe that speaking of Aznarism in the current party is outdated, although the Catalan People's Party (PP) does emphasize that "Aznar has a line that coincides with Ayuso and Alejandro Fernández," with nuances regarding the pragmatic line attributed to Feijóo. Sources close to Fernández cite the example of Aznar's statement comparing the 1-O vote with the migration pact. According to these sources, Aznar has bought into the concept of the Spanish Process, first espoused by Fernández in 2021, and they believe it is undermining the state. This thesis essentially posits that the Spanish government is collaborating in the demise of Catalonia's state institutions. Other sources suggest that even the PP spokesperson in Congress, Miguel Tellado, is adopting this framework by denouncing the immigration pact.

In this battle, there is a three-way discourse, in which Aznar's shadow also looms large in the PSOE's replies. The PSOE counterattacks by recalling that the Majestic pact signed by the former president with CiU allowed the Generalitat to expand its powers in traffic matters.