Spanish minister Puente insists Aznar is the PP's shadow leader

Aznar, the shadow leader: the PP's economic nostalgia

Oscar Puente has struck again: José María Aznar is not a retired former prime minister, but the shadow leader of Spain's Popular Party (PP). The Socialist minister's blunt accusation has peine a debate that, on the economic front, never fully closed.

Because the Aznar era still divides Spanish opinion. Some remember years of strong growth, plentiful jobs and a middle class that felt the country was moving forward. That record, however, comes with an asterisk: it is acknowledged that there was corruption on a grand scale, but the argument is that living standards made up for it. That current of opinion exists, and it carries weight.

The other view is less forgiving: that growth rested on a property bubble that burst with the 2008 crisis. People lived with their backs to reality, critics say, and when reality arrived, everyone wept. Along those lines, some voices go further and demand answers about the terror attacks that marked the end of Aznar's time in office, though without conclusive evidence.

In parallel, the debate offers a note on the PP's present. The argument is made that figures like Alberto Núñez Feijóo or Cuca Gamarra are suited to regional or provincial structures, but lack the nerve and capacity for political intimidation that Aznar is presumed to have. The comparison is uncomfortable.

If the PSOE's play is to pin Aznar down as the opposition's true leader, it makes sense. The risk is that economic nostalgia, with all its nuances, keeps working in the right's favour. For now, Aznar's shadow remains a long one.