Esperanza Aguirre fires another salvo: blames Rajoy for Vox’s rise and reignites civil war within the PP

You’d think it wouldn’t be the case, but every time Esperanza Aguirre speaks, the People’s Party braces for impact. The one-time undisputed leader of the PP in Madrid and former regional president has, once again, decided to shake the party to its core with comments that have left no one untouched. And this time, the spotlight isn’t just on her protégé, Isabel Díaz Ayuso—it’s aimed squarely at former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The civil war on the Spanish right isn’t just continuing; it’s flaring up with unexpected ferocity.

“Rajoy took us to the brink”: the origins of the Vox tsunami

What Aguirre has let slip in recent hours is, to say the least, an earthquake. According to sources close to the former leader, her diagnosis is ruthless: the rise and subsequent success of Vox wasn’t down to luck or the brilliance of its founders, but rather a power vacuum created, in her words, by the PP leadership under Mariano Rajoy. “If there hadn’t been a government hell-bent on erasing the centre-right’s defining identity, no other party would have had to move into that space,” is the gist of what she’s telling political insiders.

For her, Rajoy’s timidity during his years in La Moncloa was the perfect breeding ground. The feeling among many PP voters that “nothing was happening” when it came to regional challenges or handling certain issues drove a segment of the electorate to look for a more combative home. And that’s where Esperanza Aguirre stirs the pot: without Rajoy’s approach, Vox simply wouldn’t exist as we know it today. It’s a direct, no-holds-barred accusation that lays bare the internal rift that has never truly healed.

• Criticism of Rajoy: Aguirre accuses him of having “squandered” Aznar’s legacy and leaving right-wing voters without a home.
• The Ayuso effect: Amid this storm, the current Madrid president emerges stronger as the natural heir to a more combative spirit.
• Feijóo’s secret: The former president reveals that she could have been the one to “put the brakes” on the current national leader, but chose to take a back seat.

Loyalty (and the dagger) with Ayuso, and Feijóo’s tricky role

In the midst of this verbal offensive, Aguirre also wanted to clarify her position regarding Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Far from the gossip suggesting a cold distance, Aguirre insists her relationship with the current regional leader is one of complete mutual understanding. But the real revelation came when she spoke about national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. According to what she confessed to those close to her, there was a moment when she could have positioned herself as the main alternative to the current leadership, but she chose not to, allowing Feijóo to consolidate his leadership without facing fierce internal competition. “I could have been the one in that role, but I chose a different path,” she essentially said, hinting that if not for that personal decision, the history of the post-Rajoy PP might have looked very different.

These revelations are far from innocent. They come at a time when the PP is trying to project unity ahead of upcoming election cycles. But Esperanza Aguirre’s shadow looms large, and her words carry the weight of someone who, for years, was the only voice daring to challenge the stagnation of the Rajoy era. For many, her analysis of Vox’s origins is a wake-up call. For others, it’s simply confirmation that the former president remains the great strategist, pulling strings from the sidelines to position her allies and set the agenda.

Resurrection or settling scores?

What’s clear is that Spanish politics, and especially the centre-right space, can’t afford to ignore what Aguirre says. Her latest remarks aren’t just a venting session; they’re a bitter assessment of what she sees as a historic mistake. By going after Rajoy, she’s not only vindicating her own track record, but also validating the radical shift represented by Ayuso and Vox as a necessary, almost organic, response to an era she considers a “betrayal” of principles.

As Feijóo tries to navigate these turbulent waters, Esperanza Aguirre once again places herself at the centre of the storm, proving that her voice—even without an official position—remains one of the most reliable gauges for measuring the temperature of the PP’s internal war. The narrative is set: Rajoy created the conditions for a monster to emerge that now eats away at votes on the right, and she, along with Ayuso, are the only ones who saw it coming and fought it. The rest, as always, is a story that will continue to be written through explosive comments.