Mariano Rajoy and his party poopers

Mariano Rajoy and his party poopers
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By Howard Brereton - Editor - Nov 4, 2009 - 10:12 AM

Esperanza Aguirre and Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón - EFE archive

For those of us accustomed to the vast poll swings and open talk of leadership challenges in U.K. politics, things in Spain seem to go at a far slower speed

Mariano Rajoy has already led his party to two election defeats, and if there is one thing he has shown in the face of the recent Gürtel corruption allegations, is that he takes his time before making any decision.

On Tuesday he told a meeting of the party’s National Executive that he would not put up with any more washing of the party’s dirty linen in public, but his authority up to now has been such that the key washerwoman, Esperanza Aguirre, simply chose not to attend.

He has never managed to keep discipline in the party, the fight between the two wings of the party in Madrid, represented by the Madrid regional president, Esperanza Aguirre on the one hand, and Madrid Mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, on the other, has been going on for years.

Does Rajoy really think he can stop or change that?

With 20% unemployment forecast for Spain at the time of the next General Election in 2012, the people of the country will surely vote for change, but they will do so despite Mariano Rajoy and not because of him. Rajoy, even now in the depths of recession, falls behind the personal ratings of Prime Minister Zapatero in all the polls.

But if the Partido Popular wants a workable majority in the next parliament they need a new leader, and that takes us back to the fight between Aguirre and Gallardón…

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