Aznar, Trump and the PP's escape to Vox
Last Monday, the FAES Foundation gave Vox a kick in the ass that has been much discussed on social media these days. The think tank of the former president of the Government, José María Aznar, published an editorial that was not lacking in forcefulness for being short, two paragraphs. This was just an extract: “It does not seem very patriotic,” said the organization close to the PP, to support the “victory of a KGB colonel.” “Confusing Putin’s Russia – a mafia-like kleptocracy – with the fulfillment of the promises of Fatima is as picturesque as trusting Stormy Daniels’ client to restore traditional morality,” it added. Tremendous.
The article, in fact, settles scores with both Santiago Abascal and Donald Trump. Special mention should be made of Aznar's break with the new US administration, a recognised Europeanist and Atlanticist. This is not the first editorial that FAES has dedicated to Trumpism in a critical sense. After the election results in November, it said the following: "It is not good news, neither for Spain nor for the European Union as a whole, nor for NATO, the success of the discourse that Trump embodies: a populism seasoned with protectionist, isolationist approaches, and intemperate attitudes that at one time reached the point of open institutional challenge, encouraging nothing more and nothing less than an assault on the Capitol." Conclusion: Aznar wants nothing to do with Trump.
Read also Faes attacks Vox for supporting Trump's tariffs and trusting "Stormy Daniels' client" Cristina Sen
FAES' review of Abascal is also noteworthy. It could seem that Aznar is showing Feijóo the way and indicating to him that Vox is not good company. He is telling him to stay away from this party. The good rapport between a former president who once wrote the prologue to a book by Abascal entitled 'The farce of self-determination' is over. For Aznar, Abascal became "a man of qualities", especially after the harsh reality he lived in the Basque Country during the hardest period of ETA.
But the good rapport between Aznar and Abascal exploded after the emergence of Vox in the Andalusian elections of 2018. That's when the 'fair play' ended. Critical messages towards Casado's PP began to emerge from Vox: "Cowardly little right-winger" or "blue weather vane" were some of the epithets. Aznar exploded one day. "Nobody calls me cowardly little right-winger to my face because they can't stand my gaze," he replied.
This week's FAES commentary consummates the divorce between the two Spanish right-wing parties. Vox is riding the Trump wave and has recently received the public support of Elon Musk. The response to Aznar has been a "cover up, please," accompanied by an old image of the former president with Putin.
Please cover yourself! https://t.co/9nSZFD92Nq pic.twitter.com/aGPDWAvBnP
— Santiago Abascal 🇪🇸 (@Santi_ABASCAL) February 24, 2025
The PP could have chosen different formulas to seal this separation of its national leadership from that of Vox (at lower levels the relations are not broken). It could have turned to Esteban González Pons again. It could have been its general secretary, Cuca Gamarra, or its parliamentary spokesperson, Miguel Tellado. Feijóo himself could have been the one to end this relationship. But it has been Aznar, the man who, due to his way of understanding politics, could be closest to the Vox of a few years ago.
Aznar's wake-up call is intended to show that the PP is not going to compromise on certain postulates, which could help to stop the flight of potential voters to Vox. The latest CIS survey in February showed a neutral balance in the transfer between one party and the other. But the alarms are on, since in January (raw data from the public polling company, without cooking) up to 12.5% of PP voters said they would take the Vox ballot. The blanket theory is there: if you pull from above, your feet will be uncovered.
The PP's great dilemma has remained the same for years: how to relate to Vox when it does not achieve an absolute majority. It happened to the PSOE with Podemos and it happens every day to Génova. It is the big X in the equation, because if Feijóo wants to reach Moncloa, everything indicates that he will have to make himself understood by Abascal, even if it weighs on both of them.
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