US embassy cable - 04MADRID3907

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, Popular Party 
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