Mariano Rajoy Resigns As Leader Of The Popular Party

Mariano Rajoy, recently dismissed as president of the Spanish government, announced on Tuesday that he will also resign as leader of the Popular Party a few days after his government collapsed following a parliamentary censure motion amid a corruption scandal.

Rajoy, visibly moved, told the PP militancy in Madrid that after 15 years at the helm of the game, it was time to hand over the leadership to another leader in the party conclave that will take place this year.

“The time has come to put an end to this stage,” said the 63-year-old politician. “It’s the best thing for me and for the Popular Party,” he added. On Friday, lawmakers voted to remove Rajoy after a corruption scandal involving several members of his party. He was replaced by the leader of the Socialists, Pedro Sánchez.

Rajoy, who had been at the head of the government since 2011, predicted that the new administration will only bring political instability to Spain, noting that Sánchez has never won an election.

We have governed “someone who has been systematically rejected by the Spaniards when their opinion was asked at the polls,” Rajoy added. Sanchez should announce the members of his new cabinet on Wednesday, but the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) revealed on Tuesday some names, including that of Constitutionalist lawyer Carmen Calvo and former President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell. The secretary of organization of the PSOE José Luis Ábalos confirmed that Calvo will be vice president and that Borrell will be in charge of foreign relations. Ábalos, in statements to the state television station TVE, said that Calvo will also be minister of the recovered Ministry of Equality, in a nod to the feminist movement. María Jesús Montero, known for her work in the economic recovery of Andalusia, will be finance minister.

Ábalos will serve as Development Minister, according to his office. The election of Borrell, a 71-year-old Catalan, was criticized by the separatists of Catalonia and praised by pro-Spanish legislators in the divided region. Borrell has been critical of the independence of Catalonia. In order to get votes against Rajoy from the Catalan separatists, Sanchez promised negotiations on the future of the north-eastern region. 

But Borrell’s appointment seems to contradict that intention. German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Sanchez in a telephone conversation on Tuesday and wished her success. According to the German government, the two agreed to “strengthen cooperation to achieve a stronger Europe”.