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No More Mariano Mister Nice Guy
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By h.b. - Jan 16, 2008 - 4:28 PM
The decisions taken by Mariano Rajoy, the PP leader, over the past week shatter his media image as Mister Nice Guy
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The leader of the Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, comes across on television interviews well, as a sort of nice bloke.
His moderate declarations on programmes such as ‘Tengo una pregunta para usted’ have indicated that he leads a moderate party of the centre.
But, if anyone had any doubts about him being a wolf in sheep’s clothing, then the events of this past week leave absolutely no room for doubt. The only other explanation is that he is so weak, he is as a consequence blown about by those closest to him, and now all those surrounding Rajoy are nowhere near the political centre.
The decision of Mariano Rajoy to have the ex President of the Endesa company, Manuel Pizarro, as his number two on the candidate list for Madrid, and to leave the Mayor of the capital, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón out in the cold, marks a visible and extreme shift to the right wing for the Partido Popular.
Manuel Pizarro is a long-time critic of the Socialist government and also a good friend of the Church-funded COPE broadcaster, Federico Jiménez Losantos. To be more extreme on the right wing than Losantos is difficult, and also among his friends we find Esperanza Aguirre, the other winner from the P.P. right wing this week, whose ultimatum to Rajoy led to his rejection of Gallardón. You may remember she even had the ‘cara’ to defend the broadcaster to the King at a dinner last year. (details here.)
What a tangled web they weave, with poor Gallardón now out for the political count, and debating his abandonment of politics completely. He is also in the middle of legal action against Losantos currently accusing him of slander, and that certainly has not helped in the Mayor of Madrid’s efforts in winning friends inside the party.
There are some that think that Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón is also really right wing at heart. They point to his firm faith as a Catholic, but these critics would do well to remember that Gallardón is one of the few Partido Popular mayors to accept the law of the land for what it is, and perform gay marriages, for example. He was also the only P.P. bigwig to attend the Prime Minister’s Alliance of Civilisations Forum this week.
Actions speak louder than words, especially in politics, and certainly when compared to Zaplana, Acebes, and Aguirre, those forever smiling faces waiting in the wings behind Rajoy, Gallardón is a moderate.
He is also popular. Very popular in fact. Polls place him top of the P.P. popularity stakes and now the decision taken by Mariano Rajoy, and announced the day after the placing of Manuel Pizarro in his place, has lead to the very real possibility of the Partido Popular losing a wide band of support from the centre as well as one of their most charismatic leaders.
Many consider that Mariano Rajoy himself thinks he will lose the General Election, and therefore did not want to place Gallardón in a position to replace him, after what would be his second election defeat. In fact Rajoy has never really won anything, being hand picked for the post of leader by José María Aznar, his predecessor. The continued role or influence of Aznar is also speculated afresh following these events.
But what the general public will see, and clearly, is that Mariano Rajoy is not that nice guy he has been telling us he is. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón announced as long ago as the middle of last year that he wanted to be number two to Rajoy on the candidate list. Why on earth didn’t Mariano Rajoy take him quietly to one side to say it was not going to happen, instead of cruelly leaving the door open until Tuesday night this week? Simply not nice. Any why didn’t Mariano Rajoy have the decency to have a private meeting with Gallardón to inform him of the decision? Instead, the Mayor of Madrid, the most popular PP leader with the public remember, and certainly far more popular than Rajoy, was subjected to the humiliation of being told the decision in the presence of his long-time rival Esperanza Aguirre. No wonder we are told the meeting was tense. We now know that Rajoy took out a piece of paper and read the decision to Gallardón, rather than just speaking normally and telling him. Again, it’s simply not nice from Rajoy.
El Mundo published a poll last September saying that P.P. voters wanted to see both Gallardón and Rodrigo Rato, the ex Director of the International Monetary Fund, standing as candidates. (Details here.) Now, through the management of Mariano Rajoy both these assets have been lost to the party. Even Manuel Fraga, the ex Franco cohort and now P.P. senator, has said he thinks the loss of Gallardón will lose the P.P. ‘a lot of votes’.
There is no longer any counterbalance to the right wing of Zaplana, Acebes and Aguirre. If Mariano Rajoy loses the election it will not be long before one of them pounces, and Spain will have lost a centre-right party for the foreseeable future. Could the new UPD centre party formed by Rosa Díez take advantage of the new political space, I wonder?
(You are invited to leave your vote on this subject in our poll in the right hand column - Thank You)
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Readers' comments:
No More Mariano Mister Nice Guy
larger | smaller
By h.b. - Jan 16, 2008 - 4:28 PM
No longer nice - Partido Popular leader, Mariano Rajoy - Archive Photo EFE
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The leader of the Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, comes across on television interviews well, as a sort of nice bloke.
His moderate declarations on programmes such as ‘Tengo una pregunta para usted’ have indicated that he leads a moderate party of the centre.
But, if anyone had any doubts about him being a wolf in sheep’s clothing, then the events of this past week leave absolutely no room for doubt. The only other explanation is that he is so weak, he is as a consequence blown about by those closest to him, and now all those surrounding Rajoy are nowhere near the political centre.
The decision of Mariano Rajoy to have the ex President of the Endesa company, Manuel Pizarro, as his number two on the candidate list for Madrid, and to leave the Mayor of the capital, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón out in the cold, marks a visible and extreme shift to the right wing for the Partido Popular.
Manuel Pizarro is a long-time critic of the Socialist government and also a good friend of the Church-funded COPE broadcaster, Federico Jiménez Losantos. To be more extreme on the right wing than Losantos is difficult, and also among his friends we find Esperanza Aguirre, the other winner from the P.P. right wing this week, whose ultimatum to Rajoy led to his rejection of Gallardón. You may remember she even had the ‘cara’ to defend the broadcaster to the King at a dinner last year. (details here.)
What a tangled web they weave, with poor Gallardón now out for the political count, and debating his abandonment of politics completely. He is also in the middle of legal action against Losantos currently accusing him of slander, and that certainly has not helped in the Mayor of Madrid’s efforts in winning friends inside the party.
Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón - Archive Photo EFE
There are some that think that Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón is also really right wing at heart. They point to his firm faith as a Catholic, but these critics would do well to remember that Gallardón is one of the few Partido Popular mayors to accept the law of the land for what it is, and perform gay marriages, for example. He was also the only P.P. bigwig to attend the Prime Minister’s Alliance of Civilisations Forum this week.
Actions speak louder than words, especially in politics, and certainly when compared to Zaplana, Acebes, and Aguirre, those forever smiling faces waiting in the wings behind Rajoy, Gallardón is a moderate.
He is also popular. Very popular in fact. Polls place him top of the P.P. popularity stakes and now the decision taken by Mariano Rajoy, and announced the day after the placing of Manuel Pizarro in his place, has lead to the very real possibility of the Partido Popular losing a wide band of support from the centre as well as one of their most charismatic leaders.
Many consider that Mariano Rajoy himself thinks he will lose the General Election, and therefore did not want to place Gallardón in a position to replace him, after what would be his second election defeat. In fact Rajoy has never really won anything, being hand picked for the post of leader by José María Aznar, his predecessor. The continued role or influence of Aznar is also speculated afresh following these events.
But what the general public will see, and clearly, is that Mariano Rajoy is not that nice guy he has been telling us he is. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón announced as long ago as the middle of last year that he wanted to be number two to Rajoy on the candidate list. Why on earth didn’t Mariano Rajoy take him quietly to one side to say it was not going to happen, instead of cruelly leaving the door open until Tuesday night this week? Simply not nice. Any why didn’t Mariano Rajoy have the decency to have a private meeting with Gallardón to inform him of the decision? Instead, the Mayor of Madrid, the most popular PP leader with the public remember, and certainly far more popular than Rajoy, was subjected to the humiliation of being told the decision in the presence of his long-time rival Esperanza Aguirre. No wonder we are told the meeting was tense. We now know that Rajoy took out a piece of paper and read the decision to Gallardón, rather than just speaking normally and telling him. Again, it’s simply not nice from Rajoy.
El Mundo published a poll last September saying that P.P. voters wanted to see both Gallardón and Rodrigo Rato, the ex Director of the International Monetary Fund, standing as candidates. (Details here.) Now, through the management of Mariano Rajoy both these assets have been lost to the party. Even Manuel Fraga, the ex Franco cohort and now P.P. senator, has said he thinks the loss of Gallardón will lose the P.P. ‘a lot of votes’.
There is no longer any counterbalance to the right wing of Zaplana, Acebes and Aguirre. If Mariano Rajoy loses the election it will not be long before one of them pounces, and Spain will have lost a centre-right party for the foreseeable future. Could the new UPD centre party formed by Rosa Díez take advantage of the new political space, I wonder?
(You are invited to leave your vote on this subject in our poll in the right hand column - Thank You)
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Readers' comments:
Colin
16 Jan 2008, 23:03
16 Jan 2008, 23:03
This web site gets more partisan every day.
John
16 Jan 2008, 23:24
16 Jan 2008, 23:24
What is happening in Madrid is a fight for the future control of the
Partido Popular
Claire
17 Jan 2008, 14:12
17 Jan 2008, 14:12
Find me an editorial that isnt partisan in Spain. the nature of politics
here make it impossible.
If you analyse yesterday evenings online editions of the right wing national newspapers, with the exception of Libertad Digital, its clear that none were in support of Rajoy´s actions.
They know they have lost the elections and instead are moving further to the right to continue with their church led snipping at Zappo´s socialist reforms.
I support this editorial, albeit I never believed Rjoy to be a particularly ´nice bloke´...more weak, which was proven yesterday.
If you analyse yesterday evenings online editions of the right wing national newspapers, with the exception of Libertad Digital, its clear that none were in support of Rajoy´s actions.
They know they have lost the elections and instead are moving further to the right to continue with their church led snipping at Zappo´s socialist reforms.
I support this editorial, albeit I never believed Rjoy to be a particularly ´nice bloke´...more weak, which was proven yesterday.
Gallego sabio
19 Jan 2008, 12:34
19 Jan 2008, 12:34
El líder de Pontevedra ha demostrado su astucia gallega en la jugada.....
bob
21 Jan 2008, 22:29
21 Jan 2008, 22:29
In breaking news, Mariano Rajoy was seen in my front yard saving a cat that
was up a tree. (Im just trying to balance the ridiculously slanted articles
from this site.)
John
22 Jan 2008, 00:32
22 Jan 2008, 00:32
There is no longer any counterbalance to the right wing of Zaplana, Acebes
Aguirre, and Bob.
Aleon
19 Feb 2008, 16:32
19 Feb 2008, 16:32
What are you saying? For God sake!!!
First of all, define "right wing".
You are confusing concepts.
Esperanza Aguirre and Manuel Pizarro have nothing to do with Gallardón.
Once we clarify this, we can go on talking about being right or "wrong".
First of all, define "right wing".
You are confusing concepts.
Esperanza Aguirre and Manuel Pizarro have nothing to do with Gallardón.
Once we clarify this, we can go on talking about being right or "wrong".
cogumelon
13 Aug 2008, 20:30
13 Aug 2008, 20:30
Hi, your blog has been very helpful towards my research on the Gallardón
crisis. However, I don't understand HOW this system of lists (being number
1, 2 or excluded) works, so I would appreciate any clarification (or simply
being directed to a place where this is clearly explained (preferably in
English) Many thanks in advance
Please keep to the subject. Opinions published here are of our visitors, not the Typically Spanish team. Comments which go against Spanish laws or which are libellous are not allowed. We reserve the right to delete any comment we wish.
Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema.
Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema.
