This article continues the series The Tale of a President, where the personality profile of the last two Presidents of the Government of Spain, namely Jose María Aznar López and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is assessed. The personality profile includes a brief fact sheet of the President along a synopsis of his psychological profile according to the three authors Rhenson, Barber and Greenstein.
GROWING UP
- Youngest of four siblings (three brothers one sister)
- High middle-income family / no economic suffering
- His father was a successful journalist
- College graduate
- No deceased parent or siblings
- Fluent in French
POLITICAL TRAJECTORY
- From the right when he was President of Castilla-Leon to center-right
- From the center-right during his Opposition Years to the center in his four years as President
- From the center to the center-right in 2000-2002
- From the center-right to the right in 2002-2004
- From the right to a more pronounced right that flirts with neoliberal positions in his last four years
CHARACTERS THAT INFLUENCED HIM
- Grandfather
- Political Mentor Manuel Fraga Iribarne
POLITICAL PERIODS
- Opposition (1989-1996): active-negative, pragmatist
- First Presidency (1996-2000): active-positive, pragmatist
- Second Presidency (2000-2002): active-positive, pragmatist
- Second Presidency (2002-2004): active-negative, ideologue
DIMENSIONS
- Cabinet Members: some belong in Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic group
- Foreign Policy: strong ties to Europe and the United States
- Basque Terrorism: negotiated ceasefire, strong fighter of terrorism (Islamist/Basque)
- Relation with Nationalist Parties: increasingly worsening in his eight years as President
- Family Life: well balanced, stable marriage, two sons and one daughter
- First Lady: Ana Botella, increasingly involved in politics, now #3 in Madrid’s City Hall
Authors
RHENSON
- Ambition: Strong, Explicit
- Ideology vs Pragmatism: Pragmatism
- Rationality vs Judgement: Judgement
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Average, strong leadership
BARBER
- Active positive
- Active negative
- Passive positive
- Passive negative
GREENSTEIN
- Political communication: Average
- Organization capacity: Strong
- Political skill: Strong
- Vision: economic (Strong), social (Weak), foreign policy (Europe: Strong, international: Weak)
- Cognitive style: Average
- Emotional intelligence: Weak