Esperanza Aguirre Strikes Again: Blames Rajoy for Vox’s Rise and Unleashes Civil War Within the PP

It’s hard to believe, but every time Esperanza Aguirre speaks, the People’s Party braces itself. The former undisputed leader of the PP in Madrid and president of the regional government has, once again, decided to shake the party to its core with remarks that have spared no one. This time, the spotlight isn’t just on her protégée, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, but is aimed squarely at former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The civil war on the Spanish right is not only far from over; it’s flaring up again with unexpected ferocity.

“Rajoy Drove Us to the Edge”: The Origin of the Vox Tsunami

What Aguirre has let loose in recent hours is nothing short of an earthquake. According to sources close to the former president, her assessment is brutal: the emergence and subsequent success of Vox wasn't a matter of chance or the brilliance of its founders, but rather a power vacuum that, in her own words, was created by the PP leadership under Mariano Rajoy. In political circles, she essentially argues, “If there hadn’t been a government that worked to erase the centre-right’s defining principles, someone else wouldn’t have had to step into that space.”

For her, Rajoy’s timidity during his years in Moncloa was the perfect breeding ground. The feeling among many PP voters that “nothing was happening” in the face of territorial challenges or the handling of certain issues led a segment of the electorate to look for a more combative home. And this is where Esperanza Aguirre stirs the pot: without Rajoy’s leadership, Vox simply wouldn’t exist as we know it today. It’s a direct, unequivocal accusation that lays bare the internal rift that has never fully healed.

• Criticism of Rajoy: Aguirre accuses him of having “squandered” Aznar’s legacy and leaving right-leaning voters feeling abandoned.
• The Ayuso Effect: Amidst this storm, the current Madrid president emerges strengthened as the natural heir to that more combative spirit.
• Feijóo’s Secret: The former president reveals that she could have been the “brake” on the current national leader, but chose to take a back seat.

Loyalty (and the Knife) with Ayuso and Feijóo’s Complicated Role

In the midst of this verbal offensive, Aguirre also wanted to clarify her position regarding Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Far from the rumours of a cold distance, Aguirre insists her relationship with the current regional leader is one of full complicity. But the juiciest part came when she spoke about the national leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo. According to what she’s confessed to those in her inner circle, there was a moment when she herself could have become the main alternative to the current leadership, but she decided not to, thus allowing Feijóo to consolidate his leadership without facing a fierce internal challenge. “I could have been the one in that role, but I chose a different path,” she essentially stated, hinting that had it not been for that personal decision, the PP’s post-Rajoy history could have been 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 is long, and her words resonate with 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, moving pieces from the sidelines to position her allies and set the agenda.

Resurrection or Settling Scores?

What is clear is that Spanish politics, particularly the centre-right space, can’t afford to ignore whatever Aguirre says. Her latest statements are not merely a venting of frustration but a bitter diagnosis of what she considers a historical mistake. By going after Rajoy, she is not only vindicating her own career but also legitimizing the radical shift represented by Ayuso and Vox as a necessary, almost organic, response to an era she views as a “betrayal” of principles.

While Feijóo tries to navigate these turbulent waters, Esperanza Aguirre has once again placed herself at the centre of the storm, proving that her voice, even without a formal position, remains one of the most reliable barometers for gauging the temperature of the PP’s internal war. The narrative is now set: Rajoy created the conditions for the birth of a monster that is now eating away at votes on the right, and she, along with Ayuso, are the only ones who saw it clearly and fought it. The rest, as always, is history that will continue to be written with incendiary statements.