On 30 August 2003 , Aznar announced that he would retire from politics in the 2004 elections and proposed Rajoy as his successor . Rajoy was elected Secretary General of the party the following day , and led the party into the 2004 elections . However , the PP 's large lead evaporated in the wake of the 11-M bombings , and the PP was heavily defeated by the PSOE
11-M bombings
2004 Madrid train bombings
Mariano Rajoy