Rajoy is starting to lose support as a leader, whether as prime minister of Spain or as head of the Partido Popular. "Loyalties to the 62-year-old Rajoy are starting to waver as ministers, key advisers and media allies all distance themselves from the wounded leader", claims an article this Tuesday from Bloomberg, the international media company.
The title is hard-hitting: "Spain's Elite Edges Away From Rajoy". The reason given: his management of the Catalan crisis, which "has changed something fundamental in Spanish politics".
The timing couldn't be worse, Bloomberg adds. Rajoy wanted to pour all of PP's resources into the local and regional elections in June next year, part of the run up to the 2020 general election. His party, however, aren't 100% on board with his strategy, despite their poor starting position: "Support for Rajoy’s PP has slumped to the lowest level since 1989, and for the first time in two generations its voters have a viable alternative on the center-right in Ciudadanos, which has led in three out of five polls this month".
Signs of exhaustion
The details in support of their headline are not overly numerous and tiptoe around the open corruption cases. The most notable fact they put forward was the absence of four regional leaders from a meeting of party leadership on 15th January, among them one of the names frequently mentioned as a potential successor for Rajoy: president of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
On the other hand, Feijóo gave a speech this Monday (with deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría in the audience) in which he said that Rajoy would have to bring the general election forward if he cannot pass a budget this year.
Bloomberg also mention the minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, refusing to return to Cantabria as candidate for the region's presidency, and the resignations of certain key staff, like Jorge Moragas.
They also cite Spanish newspaper El País changing sides from PP to Ciudadanos, as well as an editorial describing "signs of exhaustion" in Rajoy's leadership and another asking him to take responsibility for corruption in the party which has taken place while he's been in charge. "Even the State Council, an advisory body packed with establishment figures, is struggling to support the prime minister’s tactics on Catalonia", they write, referring to a recommendation they made last week.