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. </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 on Tuesday announced he was resigning as leader of the conservative People's Party (PP) after losing power in a no-confidence vote.

MADRID: Spain's former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday announced he was resigning as leader of the conservative People's Party (PP) after losing power in a no-confidence vote.

"It's best for me, for the party, and it's best for Spain," Rajoy said to a standing ovation from party members.

The Socialists replaced the PP as the country's leaders on Friday after parliament passed a no-confidence motion against Rajoy over a slew of corruption cases.

Rajoy had already been under fire for his handling of a secession crisis in Catalonia, with many voters turning away from his PP to the centre-right Ciudadanos.

"He is doing the best thing for his party," Teneo Intelligence analyst Antonio Barroso said. "It will open a renewal process inside the PP. It was the only party that had not renewed its leadership over the past years and it was dragging it down."

Rajoy will still function as head of the party until a party congress agrees on his successor.

Twenty-nine people related to the PP, including a former treasurer and other senior members, were convicted in May of offences including falsifying accounts.

Rajoy became the first sitting prime minister in Spain to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness in the case last year, prompting calls for him to resign. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In his ruling, the judge said there was evidence the party ran a slush fund for many years and that the credibility of Rajoy's testimony denying it "should be questioned". </s> The former prime minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, who was recently ousted from office by a motion of no confidence in parliament, announced Tuesday that he would step down as leader of the right-wing Popular Party.

Rajoy, who had been president of the conservative party since 2004, said he would shortly call a meeting with the party's board of directors in order to elect a successor. </s> Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s former premier whose government was toppled last week in a no-confidence vote, announced on Tuesday that he was also quitting his party’s helm.

“The Popular Party should continue advancing and constructing its history of service to the Spanish people under the leadership of another person,” he announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

Rajoy has been the head of Spain’s right-wing Popular Party since 2004. His resignation from the post comes days after he became the first Spanish leader in modern history to be ousted in a parliamentary vote.

As prime minister from 2011, Rajoy led Spain out of a deep financial crisis, but was also embattled by corruption charges that brought down several high-ranking members of his party.

“I’m doing it [resigning] for two reasons: it’s the best for me, and for the Popular Party. In other words, it’s the best for the Popular Party and for me, and I also believe, for Spain,” he explained in his characteristically diffuse style.

Rajoy will remain leader of his party until a new candidate is chosen. </s> MADRID: Spain’s former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday he would stand down as leader of the People’s Party (PP) after his party was ousted from government in a no-confidence vote from Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez.



“It’s best for me, best for the party and best for Spain,” Rajoy said to a standing ovation from party members.

The Socialists replaced the PP as the country’s leaders on Friday after parliament passed a no-confidence motion against Rajoy over a slew of corruption cases. </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> The Latest on moves to oust Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (all times local):

Mariano Rajoy has told the Spanish parliament that he is proud of his record as prime minister in brief remarks ahead of a no-confidence vote that appears set to give the power to the opposition Socialists.

Rajoy told lawmakers on Friday: "It has been a honor to leave Spain better than I found it. Thank you to all Spaniards and good luck."

Rajoy's likely removal follows corruption convictions last week involving former members of his conservative Popular Party.

Backed by a narrow majority in the 350-seat lower house, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez appears set to become prime minister-designate. The final vote has been called for 0900 GMT.

Socialist opposition leader Pedro Sanchez is on the brink of ending Mariano Rajoy's more than six-year reign as Spanish prime minister in what would be the first ouster of a serving leader by parliament in four decades of democracy.

Barring last-minute surprises, a no-confidence vote that would oust Rajoy and make Sanchez prime minister-designate is expected to pass by a narrow majority in parliament's 350-seat lower house.

Rajoy's likely removal follows corruption convictions last week involving former members of his conservative Popular Party.

The prime minister wasn't in the Congress of Deputies on Friday morning when the debate resumed on the motion ahead of a final vote. He didn't attend Thursday afternoon either, going instead to a central Madrid restaurant with some members of his cabinet. </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.
Former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy resigns as the leader of People's Party, four days after losing the no-confidence vote that ended his premiership.