VIP guest list as PM´s daughter ties the knot

Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy joined Spain's political elite yesterday for the country's wedding of the year -that of the daughter of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Singer Julio Iglesias and media mogul Rupert Murdoch were among the celebrities joining about 1'000 guests for the nuptials of Ana Aznar, 20, and 31-year-old Alejandro Agag, a former rising star in her father's Popular Party. Berlusconi arrived in tails at the 16th century monastery in bright afternoon sunshine. Blair was with his wife, Cherie, who wore a modest green dress with lace trim. The king and queen of Spain, the entire Spanish cabinet, and a host of business leaders all poured into the monastery north of Madrid. The bride, wearing an ivory gown, was escorted into the monastery on her father's arm. One pro-government Spanish newspaper dubbed the ceremony “almost a state wedding”. Other foreign leaders on the guest list included Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and El Salvador's President Francisco Flores. The guest list underlined an alliance between the three European premiers, Aznar, Blair and Berlusconi, a growing force in the European Union. Berlusconi is also said to be a personal friend of the groom. Ana Aznar is said to have little interest in politics. While Agag, bespectacled and immaculately turned out at the wedding, stepped down from party duties following the engagement, he is still widely seen as a future player on the political scene. Agag, who used to be one of the prime minister's assistants, proposed to Ana in her father's offices, according to local press. A former member of the European Parliament and secretary-general of the European Popular Party, he is also part of a Madrid clique of ambitious young conservatives called “The Becerril Clan”. But he might be able to dodge cries of nepotism, as he has now left politics, for the time being at least, working instead for a Portuguese bank.