Choosing between two candidates, Spain's center-right Popular Party on Saturday will elect its new president who will have the task of keeping the party together as well as regenerating it with a view to winning the next general election scheduled for 2020.

Spain's former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, and leader and spokesperson of the party Pablo Casado, will vie for the support of 3,082 delegates in a secret ballot during the PP's 19th National Congress, which began on Friday. </s> MADRID (AP) — Former Spanish prime minister and veteran politician Mariano Rajoy is vowing loyalty to his Popular Party in an emotional farewell, as the party's leadership transitions in a bid to retake power in Spain.

The 63-year-old lost a parliamentary vote last month to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of his center-right party.

Now in the opposition, members of PP began Friday a two-day congress to choose between Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, 47, who was deputy prime minister until June, and Pablo Casado, 37, a lawyer and rising party figure.

The winner faces the challenges of reuniting a party split by a bitter leadership battle and rebuilding its reputation as new parties, both left and right, have ended the traditional bipartisan politics. </s> BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012. </s> Rajoy says farewell as Spain's conservatives seek new leader

MADRID (AP) — Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed loyalty to his Popular Party in an emotional farewell Friday as the conservative party seeks to retake power in Spain.

The 63-year-old politician lost a parliamentary vote last month to his Socialist party opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of his center-right party.

Now in the opposition, Popular Party members on Friday began a two-day congress to choose a new leader between Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, 47, who was deputy prime minister until June, and lawyer Pablo Casado, 37.

The winner faces the challenges of reuniting a party split by a bitter leadership battle and rebuilding its scandal-tarred reputation as rival new parties, both on the left and the right, upend Spain's traditional bi-partisan politics.

Rajoy, who led the party for 14 years, has vowed not to interfere in the election of his successor.

"I'm taking a step aside, but I'm not leaving," Rajoy told a full auditorium, adding: "I will be loyal."

Instead, in an emotional 40-minute televised speech, Rajoy defended his record applying austerity to steer the eurozone's fourth-largest economy out of its worst crisis in decades.

He also said that, despite difficulties, his government had handled well the challenge by Catalan separatists over the northeastern region's sovereignty, which became a full-blown political crisis late last year. He also took pride from "defeating" the militant group ETA, which fought for decades for Basque independence.

In 2017, Rajoy became the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify as a witness for his party's corruption misdeeds. In a ruling last May, the court fined the party for benefiting from a kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. That prompted the Sanchez-led opposition to call —and win— a vote of no confidence against Rajoy.

Sanchez, Spain's new prime minister, is trying to push ahead with a social agenda that overturns some of his conservative predecessors' policies. That won't be easy however, since he only controls 84 votes in the 350-seat lower house, while the Popular Party has 134 lawmakers. </s> MARIANO RAJOY, the Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 until he was ousted in a no confidence vote last week, has said he is leaving politics today (Tuesday).

The former head of the Spanish government added he was stepping down as the leader of the conservative Partido Popular (PP). He added at meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee that he would stay on in a caretaker role until his successor is chosen.

The party is now set to begin to process of selecting a new head ahead of elections set to be held anytime before July 2020.

Rajoy said the last few days had not been easy for him but that he had felt comforted by the support of his colleagues in the party.

“The time has come to put an end to this story. The PP must continue advancing under the leadership of another person,” he said.

Rajoy said he would be loyal to his replacement and pledged not to make any organisational changes to the PP prior to the selection of the new leader.

He added his handling of the financial crisis, confronting last year’s secession push in Cataluña and his refusal to negotiate with the ETA Basque terror group were his leading accomplishments.

Rajoy said the new left-leaning Partido Socialista (PSOE) government of Pedro Sanchez was weak and said the PP would be a strong opposition.

Rajoy’s departure ends a political career that has spanned more than 30 years. He was dubbed the ‘survivor’ of Spanish politics but he was forced out of office last week in the wake of the Gürtel kickback-for-contracts scandal.

The PP will now set in motion the selection process for Rajoy’s successor. Former Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, Ex-Public Words Minister Iñigo de la Serna and Congress of Deputies President Ana Pastor have all been tipped for the role. </s> Spain's Popular Party (PP) on Saturday picked arch-conservative Pablo Casado to replace ousted prime minister Mariano Rajoy as leader, in a move seen as a lurch to the right.

The 37-year-old lawmaker inherits the helm of a party dogged by corruption allegations and that has seen its poll numbers plunge in recent years.

"A new era begins today," Casado told party members after the vote in Madrid. "We're going to try to reconquer the hearts of all Spaniards after the difficult weeks we've experienced."

The appointment of Casado, a known conservative who has promised "hope" with a generational revamp of the party, will be seen as a lurch to the right for the party.

He has taken a hardline stance on the Catalan independence crisis, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Spain's legal response to the secession threat.

"Dialogue doesn't work with those who want to break the law," he said this week.

Casado is also against decriminalising euthanasia as promoted by the Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporation taxes.

He will have to breathe life into a party which lost three million voters between the 2011 general elections, when Rajoy won an absolute majority, and the last polls in 2016.

Many have migrated to Ciudadanos, a centre-right party, angry over the series of corruption scandals that hit the PP in recent years.

Casado beat Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who served as Rajoy's deputy, to become head of Spain's conservatives.

Rajoy's ousting in a no-confidence vote in June was partly seen as a censure for his handling of the Catalan independence crisis, and a perception that he was weak on rooting out graft.

After an acrimonious campaign that saw mystery videos released attacking both candidates, 3,082 delegates cast their ballot for the successor of Rajoy, who spoke for the last time as PP leader on Friday.

In a long, emotional speech, the 63-year-old who had bean a major figure of Spanish politics over the past 14 years asked PP members to "be responsible in carrying out your duties".

Rajoy, who has long been one of Spain's great political survivors -- he even walked away from a 2005 helicopter crash with just a broken finger -- oversaw the country's economic recovery, though unemployment has remained stubbornly high during his tenure.

In May, a court announced it had sentenced former PP officials, businessmen and their spouses to a total of 351 years in jail for their role in a vast bribery scheme known as the Gurtel case.

It proved to be one corruption scandal too many for the PP, which has been hit by a series of graft accusations, and Rajoy was gone a week later.

"We're an honest party, there's no room here for a single corrupt individual," Casado said after his election.

Santamaria, 47, emphasised her experience ahead of the vote, painting herself as the only candidate with sufficient gravitas to defeat current Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in 2020 elections.

The PP, which still holds the most seats in parliament even if it lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019. </s> MADRID (AP) — Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed loyalty to his Popular Party in an emotional farewell Friday as the conservative party seeks to retake power in Spain.

The 63-year-old politician lost a parliamentary vote last month to his Socialist party opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of his center-right party.

Now in the opposition, Popular Party members on Friday began a two-day congress to choose a new leader between Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, 47, who was deputy prime minister until June, and lawyer Pablo Casado, 37.

The winner faces the challenges of reuniting a party split by a bitter leadership battle and rebuilding its scandal-tarred reputation as rival new parties, both on the left and the right, upend Spain's traditional bi-partisan politics.

Rajoy, who led the party for 14 years, has vowed not to interfere in the election of his successor.

"I'm taking a step aside, but I'm not leaving," Rajoy told a full auditorium, adding: "I will be loyal."

Instead, in an emotional 40-minute televised speech, Rajoy defended his record applying austerity to steer the eurozone's fourth-largest economy out of its worst crisis in decades.

He also said that, despite difficulties, his government had handled well the challenge by Catalan separatists over the northeastern region's sovereignty, which became a full-blown political crisis late last year. He also took pride from "defeating" the militant group ETA, which fought for decades for Basque independence.

In 2017, Rajoy became the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify as a witness for his party's corruption misdeeds. In a ruling last May, the court fined the party for benefiting from a kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. That prompted the Sanchez-led opposition to call —and win— a vote of no confidence against Rajoy.

Sanchez, Spain's new prime minister, is trying to push ahead with a social agenda that overturns some of his conservative predecessors' policies. That won't be easy however, since he only controls 84 votes in the 350-seat lower house, while the Popular Party has 134 lawmakers. </s> RENATA BRITO

 Barcelona, Spain.- Spain’s ousted prime minister Mariano Rajoy announced Tuesday he will step down as leader of the country’s conservative Popular Party, just days after his government fell in a noconfidence vote prompted by a corruption scandal.

An emotional Rajoy, who has led the party for 15 years, told party members in Madrid that it was time to end his “journey” and hand over the leadership to someone else at a party congress later this year.

“It is the best for me and for the Popular Party, and I think for Spain as well,” the 63-year-old politician said. Lawmakers voted to oust Rajoy as prime minister last Friday following a corruption scandal involving several former members of his party. He was replaced as prime minister by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez </s> Spain's former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he will step down as leader of the conservative People's Party after 14 years.

He was removed as prime minister last week when he lost a no-confidence vote in parliament after several former party officials were found guilty of corruption.
The XIX Congress of the People's Party begins, which will elect the new party leader and successor of former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The candidates are former Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría and the party's deputy secretary of communication, Pablo Casado.