MADRID: Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is hoping to become Spain‘s next prime minister, likes to portray himself as a middle-of-the-road politician promising stability and a steady hand on the tiller.
A native of Galicia in the rural northwest, the 61-year-old is hoping his moderate stance and dull-but-dependable brand will win over the electorate when Spain votes on July 23.
When he took over as head of the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) in April 2022, he was hailed as a pragmatic moderate and a safe pair of hands to lead a party recovering from one of the worst internal crises in its history.
“Feijoo is very predictable, he likes to show off his transparency and present himself as a reliable, trustworthy politician,” said Fran Balado, a Galician journalist and author of the book “Feijoo’s Journey” (2021).
“He’s a moderate because he manages to attract progressive voters and he’s a pragmatist whom people trust,” he told AFP.
Until last year, Feijoo spent his political career in Galicia where he was first elected regional leader in 2009 with an absolute majority — a feat he went on to repeat three more times.
“The Feijoo brand of moderation managed to win him majority support four times because he really managed to woo people, even if they consider themselves social democrats,” Balado said.
“He’s trying to win that centre ground because that’s where he believes most people are.”
During his years at the helm of Galicia, Feijoo managed to keep the far-right at bay, which never won a single seat in the regional parliament despite its national resurgence.
But although the PP is slated to win this election, it won’t be with an absolute majority meaning Feijoo could likely need support from the far-right party Vox to rule — a difficult proposition for someone who has built his reputation on being a moderate.
For months, Feijoo has relentlessly vowed to “overthrow Sanchismo”, a derisory slogan targeting the policies and person of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez — a tactic aimed at deflecting tough questions about Vox, said Pablo Simon, political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University.
“We know he opposes Sanchez but we don’t know what type of government he wants…, he’s trying to maintain some kind of ambiguity,” said Simon, who said Feijoo always plays his cards close to his chest and remains something of an enigma.
“You don’t really know if he’s going one way or the other, it depends on the circumstances. And that’s part of the game.”
Born on September 10, 1961, in the village of Os Peares, Feijoo grew up in a working-class family.
His father worked in construction and his mother ran a grocery shop.
A studious child, he read law in Santiago de Compostela, hoping to become a judge. But when his father was left jobless, he pitched in to help, becoming a civil servant in 1985.
His interest in politics was piqued at university, when he would watch debates on television.
But it was only in 1991 that he got his foot on the political ladder, taking a job at Galicia’s agriculture ministry with a politician who later became Spain’s health minister and took Feijoo with him to Madrid in 1996.
There, Feijoo ran Insalud, Spain’s national health service at the time. In 2000, he took over as head of the Correos postal service.
Three years after returning to Galicia, he became regional head of the PP in 2006, leading it to victory in 2009.
Despite saying his “highest political ambition” was to be Galicia’s leader, the village boy from Os Peares packed his bags and moved to Madrid last year and now hopes to become “the first prime minister from rural Spain”.
Although he has solid reputation as one of the PP’s most-respected leaders, Feijoo has no experience in international politics and does not speak English, raising eyebrows this year after referring to US rock legend Bruce Springsteen as “Bruce Sprinter”.
Normally very guarded about his private life, he gave an interview to El Mundo’s women’s supplement in March, offering a rare glimpse at Feijoo the family man.
Described as “rather austere and not prone to the frenzy of fashion trends”, Feijoo told the magazine that becoming a father in his mid-50s with his partner Eva Cardenas was the “best gift life has given me”.
“I didn’t want children before.. [but] I’m very happy to have had a son just before the final whistle,” admitted Feijoo, who can sometimes be seen walking through Madrid’s upmarket Chamartin district with his six-year-old son Alberto and dog Cata, a schnauzer.
A self-professed “neat-freak and perfectionist” who is “very demanding,” Feijoo is close to his mum Sira and says he rings her if he’s had “a bad day”.
Although he doesn’t cook — “I’m a specialist at opening tins” — he’s an aficionado of traditional Galician dishes, notably goose barnacles and fresh spider crab, and a fan of Galician football team Deportivo de La Coruna.
A native of Galicia in the rural northwest, the 61-year-old is hoping his moderate stance and dull-but-dependable brand will win over the electorate when Spain votes on July 23.
When he took over as head of the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) in April 2022, he was hailed as a pragmatic moderate and a safe pair of hands to lead a party recovering from one of the worst internal crises in its history.
“Feijoo is very predictable, he likes to show off his transparency and present himself as a reliable, trustworthy politician,” said Fran Balado, a Galician journalist and author of the book “Feijoo’s Journey” (2021).
“He’s a moderate because he manages to attract progressive voters and he’s a pragmatist whom people trust,” he told AFP.
Until last year, Feijoo spent his political career in Galicia where he was first elected regional leader in 2009 with an absolute majority — a feat he went on to repeat three more times.
“The Feijoo brand of moderation managed to win him majority support four times because he really managed to woo people, even if they consider themselves social democrats,” Balado said.
“He’s trying to win that centre ground because that’s where he believes most people are.”
During his years at the helm of Galicia, Feijoo managed to keep the far-right at bay, which never won a single seat in the regional parliament despite its national resurgence.
But although the PP is slated to win this election, it won’t be with an absolute majority meaning Feijoo could likely need support from the far-right party Vox to rule — a difficult proposition for someone who has built his reputation on being a moderate.
For months, Feijoo has relentlessly vowed to “overthrow Sanchismo”, a derisory slogan targeting the policies and person of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez — a tactic aimed at deflecting tough questions about Vox, said Pablo Simon, political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University.
“We know he opposes Sanchez but we don’t know what type of government he wants…, he’s trying to maintain some kind of ambiguity,” said Simon, who said Feijoo always plays his cards close to his chest and remains something of an enigma.
“You don’t really know if he’s going one way or the other, it depends on the circumstances. And that’s part of the game.”
Born on September 10, 1961, in the village of Os Peares, Feijoo grew up in a working-class family.
His father worked in construction and his mother ran a grocery shop.
A studious child, he read law in Santiago de Compostela, hoping to become a judge. But when his father was left jobless, he pitched in to help, becoming a civil servant in 1985.
His interest in politics was piqued at university, when he would watch debates on television.
But it was only in 1991 that he got his foot on the political ladder, taking a job at Galicia’s agriculture ministry with a politician who later became Spain’s health minister and took Feijoo with him to Madrid in 1996.
There, Feijoo ran Insalud, Spain’s national health service at the time. In 2000, he took over as head of the Correos postal service.
Three years after returning to Galicia, he became regional head of the PP in 2006, leading it to victory in 2009.
Despite saying his “highest political ambition” was to be Galicia’s leader, the village boy from Os Peares packed his bags and moved to Madrid last year and now hopes to become “the first prime minister from rural Spain”.
Although he has solid reputation as one of the PP’s most-respected leaders, Feijoo has no experience in international politics and does not speak English, raising eyebrows this year after referring to US rock legend Bruce Springsteen as “Bruce Sprinter”.
Normally very guarded about his private life, he gave an interview to El Mundo’s women’s supplement in March, offering a rare glimpse at Feijoo the family man.
Described as “rather austere and not prone to the frenzy of fashion trends”, Feijoo told the magazine that becoming a father in his mid-50s with his partner Eva Cardenas was the “best gift life has given me”.
“I didn’t want children before.. [but] I’m very happy to have had a son just before the final whistle,” admitted Feijoo, who can sometimes be seen walking through Madrid’s upmarket Chamartin district with his six-year-old son Alberto and dog Cata, a schnauzer.
A self-professed “neat-freak and perfectionist” who is “very demanding,” Feijoo is close to his mum Sira and says he rings her if he’s had “a bad day”.
Although he doesn’t cook — “I’m a specialist at opening tins” — he’s an aficionado of traditional Galician dishes, notably goose barnacles and fresh spider crab, and a fan of Galician football team Deportivo de La Coruna.