Editorial/Opinion
No More Mariano Mister Nice Guy
By h.b.
Jan 16, 2008 - 4:28 PM

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.