“[...] was the best prime minister” – the image and activities of José Zapatero as the former Prime Minister of Spain

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the image of the former Prime Minister of Spain, J.L. Rodriguez Zapatero after the two-term rule of the socialist Partido Obrero Español in December 2011. An attempt was made to check what happens to the politician, and more precisely to his image, at the end of a political career. Is this, at the moment, possible to change the political image? Is the former prime minister somehow still interesting for the media and why? In the last period of his tenure, and just after the end of his reign Zapatero had a bad reputation. After leaving Moncloi decided to withdraw from the political scene and public life. Initially, he was a moderate and distant to current political events as a result of which the representatives of the Partido Popular acknowledged that Zapatero was “the worst prime minister and best former prime minister .” Is this definition still valid? Is Zapatero still politically correct? This article attempts to describe and analyze the image of the former prime minister.