17th National Congress of the People's Party (Spain)

17th National Congress of the PP

17−19 February 2012
3,172 delegates in the national congress Plurality needed to win
Opinion polls
Turnout	2,597 (81.9%) (president) 2,595 (81.8%) (board)
Candidate Mariano Rajoy Blank ballots Delegate vote 2,525 (97.6%) 63 (2.4%) Board 2,522 (97.4%) 66 (2.6%)
President before election Mariano Rajoy Elected President Mariano Rajoy

The 17th National Congress of the People's Party was held in Seville from 17 to 19 February 2012, to renovate the governing bodies of the People's Party (PP) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term. The congress slogan was "Committed to Spain" (Spanish: Comprometidos con España),^[1] and it saw Mariano Rajoy, incumbent prime minister of Spain as a result of the PP victory at the 2011 Spanish general election, being re-elected unopposed for a third term as party president with 97.6% of the delegate vote in the congress (2,525 votes) and 2.4% of blank ballots (63).^[2][3]

Overview

The congress of the PP was the party's supreme body, and could be of either ordinary or extraordinary nature, depending on whether it was held following the natural end of its term or due to any other exceptional circumstances not linked to this event. Ordinary congresses were to be held every three years and called at least two months in advance of their celebration. Extraordinary congresses had to be called by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors at least one-and-a-half month in advance of their celebration, though in cases of "exceptional urgency" this deadline could be reduced to 30 days.

The president of the PP was the party's head and the person holding the party's political and legal representation, and presided over its board of directors and executive committee, which were the party's maximum directive, governing and administration bodies between congresses. The election of the PP president was based on an indirect system, with party members voting for delegates who would, in turn, elect the president. Any party member was eligible for the post of party president, on the condition that they were up to date with the payment of party fees and that they were able to secure the signed endorsements of at least 100 party members and of 20% of congress delegates.^[4]

Timetable

The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. Note that the Canary Islands use WET (UTC+0) instead):^[1][5]

• 12 December: Official announcement of the congress.
• 19–20 January: Election of congress delegates.
• 17–19 February: Party congress.

Candidates

Candidate		Age	Notable positions	Announced	Eliminated	Ref.
Elected
Candidate elected as president.
Mariano Rajoy		56	Prime Minister of Spain (since 2011) President of the PP (since 2004) Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Pontevedra and Madrid (1986 and since 1989) Leader of the Opposition of Spain (2004–2011) Secretary-General of the PP (2003–2004) Spokesperson of the Government of Spain (2002–2003) Minister of the Presidency of Spain (2000–2001 and 2002–2003) First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (2000–2003) Deputy Secretary-General of the PP (1990–2003) Minister of the Interior of Spain (2001–2002) Minister of Education and Culture of Spain (1999–2000) Minister of Public Administrations of Spain (1996–1999) President of AP/PP in Pontevedra (1983–1986 and 1987–1991) Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia (1986–1987) President of the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra (1983–1986) City Councillor of Pontevedra (1983–1986) Deputy in the Parliament of Galicia for Pontevedra (1981–1985) Director-General for Institutional Relations of Galicia (1982)	12 December 2011	Y Elected	[6]

Declined

The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:

• 
  Esperanza Aguirre
• 
  Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
• 
  Rodrigo Rato

• Esperanza Aguirre (age 59) — President of the PP of the Community of Madrid (since 2004); President of the Community of Madrid (since 2003); Deputy in the Assembly of Madrid (since 2003); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the Assembly of Madrid (2003); Senator in the Cortes Generales for Madrid (1996–2003); President of the Senate of Spain (1999–2002); Minister of Education and Culture of Spain (1996–1999); First Deputy Mayor of Madrid (1995–1996); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the City Council of Madrid (1995–1996); City Councillor of Madrid (1983–1996).^[7][8][9]
• Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (age 53) — Minister of Justice of Spain (2011–2014); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Madrid (2011–2014); Mayor of Madrid (2003–2011); City Councillor of Madrid (1983–1987 and 2003–2011); President of the Community of Madrid (1995–2003); Deputy in the Assembly of Madrid (1987–2003); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the Senate of Spain (1993–1995); Senator in the Cortes Generales appointed by the Assembly of Madrid (1987–1995); Spokesperson of the AP/PP Group in the Assembly of Madrid (1987–1993); Vice President of AP (1987–1989); Secretary-General of AP (1986–1987).^[7]
• Rodrigo Rato (age 62) — Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (2004–2007); First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (2003–2004); Deputy Secretary-General of the PP (1996–2004); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Cádiz and Madrid (1982–2004); Second Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Spain (2000–2003); Minister of Economy of Spain (2000–2003); Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (1996–2000); Minister of Economy and Finance of Spain (1996–2000); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the Congress of Deputies (1989–1996).^[7]

Opinion polls

Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the candidate's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded.

PP voters

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size								Other /None	?	Lead
			Rajoy (Inc.)	Aguirre	Gallardón	Rato	Aznar	Camps	Costa
Opina/Cadena SER[p 1]	28–29 Oct 2010	1,000	31.7	17.0	13.6	18.7	13.5	–	–	–	5.5	13.0
Metroscopia/El País[p 2][p 3]	2 Jun 2010	506	56.0	10.0	7.0	4.0	–	–	–	6.0	17.0	46.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 4][p 5]	4–5 Nov 2009	1,000	18.9	10.5	20.3	27.0	–	–	–	23.3		6.7
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 6][p 7]	22–26 Dec 2008	1,000	15.0	17.0	27.4	29.4	–	–	–	11.2		2.0
Opina/Cadena SER[p 8][p 9]	26 Jun 2008	1,000	20.1	10.6	26.6	23.5	6.5	2.4	1.0	2.4	6.8	3.1

Spanish voters

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size								Other /None	?	Lead
			Rajoy (Inc.)	Aguirre	Gallardón	Rato	Aznar	Camps	Costa
Opina/Cadena SER[p 1]	28–29 Oct 2010	1,000	19.4	14.5	25.2	21.9	10.6	–	–	–	8.4	3.3
Opina/Cadena SER[p 10]	7–8 Oct 2010	1,000	17.7	14.9	26.6	21.0	10.6	–	–	–	9.3	5.6
Metroscopia/El País[p 2][p 3]	2 Jun 2010	506	31.0	5.0	14.0	2.0	–	–	–	7.0	41.0	17.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 11]	23–29 Dec 2009	1,000	18.9	–	24.4	–	–	–	–	–	–	5.5
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 4]	4–5 Nov 2009	1,000	13.6	–	32.9	17.4	–	–	–	–	–	15.5
Opina/Cadena SER[p 8][p 9]	26 Jun 2008	1,000	17.1	8.5	40.8	12.8	3.8	1.4	0.6	3.4	11.6	23.7

Results

Summary of the 18 February 2012 PP congress results

Candidate		President		Board
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Mariano Rajoy	2,525	97.57	2,522	97.45
Blank ballots		63	2.43	66	2.55
Total		2,588		2,588
Valid votes		2,588	99.65	2,588	99.73
Invalid votes		9	0.35	7	0.27
Votes cast / turnout		2,597	81.87	2,595	81.81
Abstentions		575	18.13	577	18.19
Registered voters		3,172		3,172
Sources[2]

Vote by delegates (President) Rajoy   97.57% Blank ballots   2.43%

Vote by delegates (Board) Rajoy List   97.45% Blank ballots   2.55%

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Pulsómetro 02/11/10" (PDF). Instituto Opina (in Spanish). 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010.
2. Garea, Fernando (6 June 2010). "El 77% quiere nuevos candidatos". El País (in Spanish).
3. "Clima Social de España (12ª oleada. Junio 2010)" (PDF). Metroscopia (in Spanish). 14 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
4. "Los votantes del PP prefieren a Rato". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 9 November 2009.
5. "La mayoría de los votantes del PP pide un congreso para elegir a su candidato". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 9 November 2009.
6. "El votante del PP prefiere a Rato, Gallardón o Aguirre antes que a Rajoy". El Mundo (in Spanish). 7 January 2009.
7. "Cada vez menos votantes del PP prefieren a Rajoy como cabeza de lista". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 7 January 2009.
8. "Rajoy aventaja por primera vez a Zapatero en popularidad". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 1 July 2008.
9. "Pulsómetro 01/07/2008". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008.
10. "Pulsómetro 13/10/10". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 13 October 2010. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010.
11. "Bono y Rubalcaba, los sustitutos preferidos para Zapatero". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 2 January 2010.

Other

1. ""Comprometidos con España", lema del XVII Congreso Nacional del Partido Popular". PP (in Spanish). 24 January 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
2. "Mariano Rajoy es reelegido presidente del PP con el 97,56% de los votos en el 17 Congreso nacional" (in Spanish). RTVE. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
3. "Alianza Popular / Partido Popular". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
4. "Estatutos del Partido Popular, aprobados por el 16 Congreso" (PDF). PP (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
5. "Comisión Organizadora y Ponencias Congreso Nacional PP". PP (in Spanish). 12 December 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
6. "Rajoy confía en Zoido la presidencia del XVII Congreso del PP". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Madrid. Europa Press. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
7. "De cómo Rajoy no es el líder que desean los votantes del PP pero Aguirre, tampoco". El Siglo de Europa (in Spanish). 1 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
8. "Esperanza Aguirre: 'Ya veremos si me presento al próximo congreso del PP. Yo no me resigno'". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
9. Elordi Cué, Carlos (24 October 2009). "El pulso con Aguirre desata en el PP la preocupación por la imagen de Rajoy". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 18 March 2022.