Aznar clarifies his critical comments and the leader of the PP considers the controversy settled
It is no secret that the PP intends to emulate in Castilla y León the success achieved by 4-M in Madrid. That is, a majority large enough to free itself from external support and govern alone. But that scenario, today, seems unrepeatable. The latest polls, except for the CIS, point to a comfortable victory for the popular on February 13, but they also confirm that they will need Vox to lead the Castilian-Leonese community. A possibility that in Genoa they do not contemplate but that Isabel Díaz Ayuso does not disdain. “The PP has to aspire to be the party that governs in freedom, that has a clear project, which does not mean that we do not understand each other with other forces, in this case with Vox,” he said on Monday.
Unlike other territorial barons, the Madrid president has normalized the understanding with the formation of Santiago Abascal, her preferred partner, and expresses it openly. He acknowledges that PP and Vox are “different projects” but with common points, and one “very important” as the voters have been. “In some cases we also have shared interests for the project that we need in Spain, which, without a doubt, is an absolute change because with the current government we are going directly to the ruin of the middle classes,” he remarked.
But Genoa does not want any ties with Vox and tries to mark ground, as Casado himself did this Sunday, with a string of criticisms of the far-right party. The leader of the PP reproached him for presenting himself to the elections in Castilla y León despite the fact that he defends a centralized state without autonomous communities. He placed him as a facilitator of Pedro Sánchez’s policies by recalling that he abstained from the decree for the distribution of European funds. And he pointed out the alleged links of Vox with Russia.
A distancing that the scrutiny of 13-F could force to modulate. If the demographic predictions are fulfilled – the latest average of polls gives them 34 seats in the regional courts, seven less than the absolute majority – the far-right party would have the key to the Executive. And in the leadership of Vox they have already advanced that if their parliamentarians are essential to guarantee governability, they will demand to be part of the Executive of Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, which would greatly hinder Casado’s strategy in his race to Moncloa.
Aznar’s “blush”
In the PP they consider that there is still a game to play and they will insist on “ignoring” Vox so as not to fuel its growth. A boom that José María Aznar attributed this weekend to the fact that citizens do not have “a strong reference in which to trust” in other parties. In an act in Valladolid, the former Prime Minister urged his supporters to stop the flight of votes from the right flank and dropped, incidentally, that he does not know what his party’s project is. A few words that set off the alarms in the popular direction. “I have a certain embarrassment in saying it in case it is considered necessary, I support Pablo Casado and I wish him to be successful and be president of the Government,” the former president said on Monday at Cope to smooth things over.
Aznar asked not to “interpret” his words as an internal message and clarified, without mentioning Vox, that the bulk of his speech – “which by the way was quite good, said with all the modesty in the world” – was aimed at defending that ” populism is not an option for Spain». «They are not recaditos; If he has to say something clearly, he does it,” said Díaz Ayuso.
The president of the Community of Madrid defended that the former president of the Government “is not a vase, he is a politician” who brought together the center-right and that when he goes to a rally “he is thoughtful and doctrinal.” “If they want a speech of empty words -he sentenced- that they do not call him”.
To try to settle the matter and avoid further consequences during the campaign, Casado thanked his mentor for his clarifications and his “support.” However, he again defended his leadership and his political project at the head of the PP.