Aznar’s Political Failure or Punishment for Supporting the Iraq War? Hypotheses About the Causes of the 2004 Spanish Election Results

This article focuses on former Spanish President José María Aznar and his party, the Partido Popular, and analyzes the evolution of their core values and public images from the beginning to the end of the two political periods they were in power. Particular attention is paid to the government’s management of the Prestige oil tanker ecological catastrophe, Spanish involvement in the Iraq War, and the March 11 terrorist attack in Spain with respect to the impact these events had on the 2004 Spanish election results.