Esperanza Aguirre returns to the fray: she blames Rajoy for the birth of Vox and reignites the civil war within the PP

You'd think it was a joke, but every time Esperanza Aguirre speaks, the People's Party (PP) quakes. The one-time undisputed leader of the PP in Madrid and former regional president has decided, once again, to shake the party to its core with comments that have ruffled more than a few feathers. And this time, the spotlight isn't just on her protégé, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; it's aimed squarely at the former Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. The civil war on the Spanish right isn't just ongoing; it's flaring up again with unexpected ferocity.

“Rajoy led us to the brink”: The genesis 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 president, her diagnosis is damning: the rise and subsequent success of Vox is no accident, nor is it down to the brilliance of its founders. In her own words, it was a power vacuum created by the PP leadership under Mariano Rajoy. “If there hadn’t been a government hell-bent on erasing the identity of the centre-right, another party wouldn’t have had to fill that space,” is the gist of what she's been saying in political circles.

For her, Rajoy’s cautious approach during his years in La Moncloa was the perfect breeding ground. The feeling among many PP voters that “nothing was being done” in the face of territorial challenges or the handling of certain issues led a chunk of the electorate to look for a more combative alternative. 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 blunt, direct 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-wing voters without a home.
• The Ayuso effect: Amidst this storm, the current Madrid president emerges strengthened as the natural heir to this more combative spirit.
• Feijóo's secret: The former president reveals she could have been the “brake” on the current national leader, but chose to take a back seat.

Loyalty (and the dagger) with Ayuso, and Feijóo's complex role

In the midst of this verbal offensive, Aguirre also wanted to clarify her position regarding Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Dismissing whispers of a cold distance, Aguirre insists their relationship is one of complete understanding. But the most intriguing part came when she spoke of the national leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo. As she confessed to those close to her, there was a moment when she herself could have become the main alternative to the current leadership, but she chose not to, thereby allowing Feijóo to consolidate his leadership without a fierce internal contest. “I could have been the one in that position, but I chose another path,” was the implication, hinting that had she not made that personal decision, the post-Rajoy history of the PP might have looked very different.

These revelations are far from innocent. They come at a time when the PP is trying to show a united front ahead of upcoming election cycles. But Esperanza Aguirre’s shadow is long, and her words carry the weight of someone who, for years, was the only voice daring to challenge the inertia 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 a master strategist, pulling strings from the sidelines to position her allies and set the agenda.

Resurrection or settling old scores?

What is clear is that Spanish politics, especially the centre-right space, can’t afford to take its eyes off what Aguirre says. Her latest remarks aren't just a venting of frustration; they are a bitter assessment of what she sees as a historic mistake. By going after Rajoy, she not only vindicates her own political career but also legitimises 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 plants herself once again at the centre of the storm, proving that her voice, even without an institutional role, remains one of the most reliable barometers for gauging the temperature of the PP’s internal war. The narrative is set: Rajoy created the conditions for a monster to be born that now eats away at the right’s vote share, and she, along with Ayuso, were the only ones who saw it for what it was and fought it. The rest, as always, is a history that continues to be written through incendiary statements.