AZNAR DOMINATES POPULAR PARTY CONGRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 003907

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2014
TAGS: PGOV SP
SUBJECT: AZNAR DOMINATES POPULAR PARTY CONGRESS

Classified By: Political Counselor Kathy Fitzpatrick; reason 1.5 (D).


1. (C) Summary. Mariano Rajoy, a long-time Aznar ally and
the Popular Party's presidential candidate in the March 14
elections, was elected as the new President of the Popular
Party (PP) during the 15th PP Party Congress. The event was
dominated by enthusiastic expressions of support for former
President Jose Maria Aznar and attacks on the "inconsistency"
of the ruling Socialist administration. Madrid Mayor
Gallardon, the PP's most visible advocate of a tilt towards
the political center and the most popular PP politician among
the general electorate, stated flatly that the PP "must have
done something wrong" to lose the March 14 elections. Rajoy
was more cautious, saying the PP would "look to the future,
not the past" and would seek "greater dialogue" with the
electorate. Both Gallardon and Rajoy were overshadowed by
Aznar, who, in a fiery speech near the close of the Congress,
proclaimed that he had no regrets regarding the actions of
his administration and called on the PP to remain true to its
fundamental principles. The election of Angel Acebes - the
public face of the Aznar administration's controversial
handling of the March 11 terrorist attacks - as PP Secretary
General indicates that there will be no revamping of the PP
leadership in order to erase voter memories of that episode.
Aznar moved into the largely ceremonial role of Honorary PP
President, but his powerful appeal to the PP base will
complicate both Rajoy's gentle shift towards the center and
Gallardon's more ambitious aspirations. End Summary.

//PP CHANGES ITS COLORS, BUT NOT ITS MESSAGE//


2. (C) Poloff joined other diplomats in attending the 10/3
closing ceremony of the 15th PP Party Congress. The most
tangible sign of change in the party was the adoption of new
colors, dropping its staid, conservative blue banners in
favor of a brilliant orange. Color changes aside, most
political analysts predicted the Congress would feature a
showdown between advocates of moving the PP towards the
political center and party stalwarts who oppose any watering
down of traditional PP principles, such as the party plank
affirming Christianity as a guiding element. In the end,
however, there was only a cautious airing of differences, as
most speakers lambasted the ruling Socialist (PSOE)
government and reaffirmed their support for traditional PP
positions. Key indicators of continuity included the
selection of Angel Acebes as PP Secretary General -- despite
his unpopular role as Minister of the Interior at the time of
the 3/11 train bombings -- and the reelection of most members
of the PP's National Executive Committee.

//CALLS FOR INTROSPECTION AND CHANGE//


3. (C) Charismatic Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, who
is very popular with non-PP voters but is distrusted by the
more conservative PP rank-and-file, broke the trend and made
veiled criticisms of the Aznar administration during his
speech. (Gallardon was seated with second-tier PP leaders
and spoke on the second day of the convention rather than in
the all-important closing ceremony on day three.) Gallardon
praised the successes of the Aznar years, but said the PP
should recognize that it "must have done something wrong" to
lose the March 14 elections. He suggested the PP should
review its positions on social issues, such as the inclusion
of Christianity in the PP platform and the party's opposition
to adoptions by homosexual couples, to determine whether such
positions alienated potential supporters. PSOE, bucking the
Spanish Catholic Church, favors legalizing homosexual
marriage and giving homosexual couples adoption rights, moves
apparently popular with the Spanish public. Gallardon said
that in the future the PP would have to adjust to new social
realities and "increase its presence in the streets." The
crowd applauded politely, but Gallardon's comments received
no more than a tepid response.

//AZNAR EXPRESSES NO REGRETS: "WE'RE RIGHT AND PSOE IS
WRONG"//


4. (SBU) Aznar, by contrast, was greeted as a conquering hero
by the enthusiastic crowd and was introduced as the "moral
point of reference" of the PP. Prior to his entry, a video
reviewed the highlights of the Aznar era and his stewardship
of the party during its most successful period. Relaxed and
confident, Aznar began by congratulating the Spanish security
forces for the landmark capture of ETA leaders earlier in the
day in a joint operation with the French government. He
recounted the many PP victims of ETA terrorism (the crowd
roared with approval during a video clip of Aznar walking
away from a failed ETA assasination attempt) and said the GOS
"can never stop fighting terrorism."


5. (SBU) After announcing his unequivocal support for Rajoy,
Aznar recited the achievements of his administration and
launched broadside after broadside at his PSOE critics. He
said the PP should not fear being in opposition to Zapatero,
alone if necessary, as long as the party remained "coherent
and consistent." Aznar insisted that the PP's primary
responsibility was to the 10 million voters who had backed
the party in its worst moments because the PP was the only
party that reflected their convictions. The PP left Spain
"solvent, without a deficit, and with fewer terrorists on the
streets and none in the institutions of government" (an
allusion to PSOE involvement in a dirty war against ETA
during the Felipe Gonzalez era.)


6. (SBU) In another swipe at alleged PSOE corruption under
Gonzalez, Aznar said his administration would be remembered
as "the government that didn't steal." He echoed earlier PP
speakers in claiming that President Zapatero's sole agenda
thus far was to roll back PP measures and irresponsibly
increase spending. Aznar noted that, unlike Zapatero, he
didn't "settle scores" with PSOE when he took office in 1996,
"even though there were many opportunities to do so." He
contrasted Zapatero's pursuit of "false" social gains with
the "genuine" economic improvements brought about during his
administration. Aznar accused Zapatero of reopening old
wounds, especially by renewing discussion of constitutional
reforms, opening the possibility of greater devolution of
power to the regions (anathema to the PP). Closing to
rousing applause, Aznar said the PP had a "patriotic
responsibility" to oppose PSOE's policies. "We are right and
PSOE is demonstrating that it is wrong...We should never be
ashamed of the way we governed or we will never be capable of
returning to government."

//RAJOY STEERS A MIDDLE COURSE//


7. (SBU) After a rather less stirring video on Rajoy's
political history, the new PP President took the stand to
reel the crowd back in and focus on his project for the
furture of the party. He began by going over the fundamental
planks of the party platform, which he said underpinned the
PP's vision of a Spain that is "solvent, free, and unified."
Though it took some time to capture the enthusiasm of the
attendees, Rajoy pulled them in with a humorous review of the
early missteps of the Zapatero administration. He criticized
Socialist "sectarianism" and Zapatero's reliance on regional
leaders intent on gaining greater powers from Madrid. Rajoy
agreed that the PP had a proud record, but said he would not
dwell on the past and would instead focus on the future,
including a commitment to the political center. He extended
an olive branch to PSOE on foreign policy, saying that, like
terrorism, the two parties should agree on core strategic
interests so that Spain would be seen as a "serious country"
by the international community rather than veering from
alliance to alliance depending on which party was in power.
A PSOE representative expressed interest in the offer on
10/4.

//TERRORISM A CENTRAL THEME//


8. (SBU) The PP's fight against terrorism was a core issue
throughout the convention, especially during Aznar's speech.
"We did the right thing when we decided to jump in up to our
necks in the fight against terrorism alongside our friends
and allies," proclaimed Aznar. Aznar scorned an editorial
writer who recently compared him to Osama bin Laden, saying
he was untroubled by that comparison, nor by the accusation
by another writer that he bore responsibility for the 200
deaths in the March 11 train bombings. "That man should ask
himself how many bodies his friends (PSOE) are responsible
for," again alluding to PSOE's involvement in the
extrajudicial killings of ETA activists during the Gonzalez
administration. "We can say with our heads held high that
our hands our clean and that we never had to bury any
cadavers in quicklime during our time in power." Aznar said
the right way to deal with terrorists was to attack them
directly through legal means.


9. (SBU) Rajoy also attacked PSOE's "manipulation" of the
3/11 train bombings, but emphasized the importance of the
PP-PSOE joint position against terrorism and called on other
parties to join the pact "without attempting to weaken it."
He congratulated Minister Interior Alonso for the major ETA
arrests and expressed his continued willingness to work with
all parties against threats to national security.

//COMMENT//


10. (C) Rajoy may have been the official winner of the PP
Presidency, but the Congress was Aznar's show. It is clear
that Aznar continues to command the support of the PP
rank-and-file and that Rajoy will have to step gingerly if he
is to successfully move the party towards the political
center. For now, Rajoy is focused on honing the PP's message
as the main opposition party and consolidating his personal
leadership of the party machinery. Meanwhile, Gallardon, for
all his popularity among non-PP voters and attractiveness as
a candidate, remains on the margins of party leadership. He
has not convinced PP loyalists that regaining power is worth
compromising ideological positions that many view as the core
strength of the party. The PP Party Congress did not
strengthen Gallardon's position.
ARGYROS