The discreet first wives

They don't hold any official jobs within the Socialist Party (PSOE) or the Popular Party (PP), the two political groups that stand the greatest chance of ruling Spain for the next four years after the November 20 general elections. Nor do they occupy positions of leadership, although their viewpoints are considered important.

Yet one of these two women will be an exceptional witness to the steps taken by Spain's next prime minister: either Pilar Goya Laza, 60, who is married to the Socialist candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, or Elvira Fernández, 46, the wife of PP candidate Mariano Rajoy. Both women share a desire to remain discreetly in the background, and for years they have managed to do so despite their husbands' lengthy political careers. But the importance of what is at stake in this particular campaign has finally pushed them into the limelight against their wishes.

Pilar Goya is blonde, elegant, athletic, childless and has been married to Rubalcaba for 33 years, although they have been together for over 40. Born in the Basque capital of Vitoria, she has nevertheless spent most of her life in Madrid, where she is a brilliant scientist who heads the Medical Chemistry Institute at the state-funded National Research Council (CSIC). She is also the vice president of the Royal Chemistry Academy, much sought after as a dissertation advisor, and author of over 120 scientific publications as well as numerous international patents.

Goya speaks three languages besides Spanish (English, French and German) and devotes what little spare time she has left to the non-profit group Save the Children, of which she is vice president. Her acquaintances describe her as intelligent, responsible, meticulous, very focused and a hard worker. On a more personal level, they say she is affectionate, friendly, generous, alert, open to criticism and a perfectionist. But above all, she is a lot of fun.

"She is highly educated," says her close friend Pilar Tigeras, herself the wife of Rubalcaba's childhood friend, Jaime Lissavetzky, now the Socialist spokesman on Madrid city council. "She could easily converse about painting, music, wine... and above all about science, in several languages."

"She's a top-class PR," agrees Lissavetzky.

Pilar Goya met Rubalcaba in college, when they were both studying at the Science Faculty of the Complutense University in Madrid. Together they became politically active, joined the PSOE and shared some of the most important moments in modern Spanish history: the death throes of the last Felipe González administration, in which Rubalcaba served as spokesman; the numerous ETA attacks, the bombing of the Madrid trains on March 11, 2004; and, most recently, the announcement that the Basque terrorists were ceasing their campaign of violence.

Elvira Fernández is dark-haired, also very attractive, restrained in her attire, and, according to everyone who knows her, terribly shy. These same acquaintances also note, however, that she is intelligent, cultured, friendly, exquisite in her manners, refined and elegant yet modern.

"She is one of those people who look good in everything, without the need for accessories and adornments," says one friend. Fernández is also described as a very straightforward person who "does not like affectedness." "She's smart, but she's not the type to go around showing it off all the time," adds another source.

Both natives of Pontevedra, Galicia, Rajoy and Fernández shared the same group of friends and started dating when he was already in his forties. She followed him to Madrid in December 1996, when Rajoy was a minister under José María Aznar, and they had two boys, Mariano and Juan, now aged 12 and five. An economist by trade, she has specialized in the acquisition of audiovisual material, first as part of the private television station Antena 3, and later for telecoms giant Telefónica. But she walked away from a corporate career in favor of caring for her children, explains a former colleague.

Fernández, like her husband, likes to exercise, and every morning the couple can be seen going for a walk in the residential area of Aravaca, on the outskirts of Madrid. They also work out together in the summer at the Nautical Club of Sanxenxo, the Galician resort where they spend their summer holidays.

One of the best-known images of Elvira Fernández dates back to the elections of March 2008, when the PP had started out as the clear favorite yet ended up as the loser. When Rajoy, who was then aiming for the prime minister's seat for the second time, went out on the balcony to wave to the crowd of supporters standing below PP headquarters on Madrid's Génova street, Fernández also stepped out on the balcony and grabbed him by the waist, in a gesture that seemed to symbolize her desire to help him carry the full load of defeat.

Another more recent if less dramatic image, captured in mid-October, showed Rajoy turning to his wife after a party congress and kissing her on the lips to the roar of the crowd.

The first time that Pilar Goya was seen in public was under similar circumstances. It was on July 8, at the Madrid convention center, when Rubalcaba confirmed his candidacy with a speech delivered to party heavyweights. This was the first time that his wife had attended a public event by the PSOE on this scale. And she was the first person that the candidate turned to after his talk, to give her a hug.

Since then, both women have become fixtures at key PP and PSOE events. It's not that they have suddenly decided to take on a political role, but they are definitely more visible. And at different points in time, both agreed to pose with their husbands for this newspaper. Yet, faithful to their chosen secondary roles, both turned down requests for interviews.

As for the role of the wife of whoever is elected new prime minister, both the PSOE and the PP share a similar view. The position of first lady is devoid of content, save as a companion on official events and trips, or at meetings with foreign leaders visiting Spain. Both parties prefer for the spouse of the government leader to be discreet. Socialist sources say that Pilar Goya would remain focused on her career, and that she would be even more reserved than Sonsoles Espinosa, wife of the outgoing Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. "She doesn't even sing," notes the source, in reference to Espinosa's low-key musical career, which has brought her a certain degree of undesirable public exposure.

The PP notes that Elvira Fernández would also be different from Espinosa but in another way: they say that the latter failed to fulfill her duties as first lady by letting Zapatero show up at many official events all by himself.