Spain’s former deputy PM will run for conservative leadership

From Spain
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría’s bid follows former PM
Mariano Rajoy’s own resignation as leader of the

conservatives.




Spain’s former Deputy Prime Minister Soraya
Sáenz de Santamaría threw her hat in the ring
on Tuesday to become the next leader of the
conservative Popular Party (PP), which lost
power last month.
“I am putting forward my candidacy because I
know what it is like to be a part of the
government,” she told reporters, adding that she
was confident the conservatives could make a
comeback. “[The PP] is a strong party that knows
how to rule.”
Mariano Rajoy stepped down as leader of the
Popular Party after being ousted as prime
minister in a no-confidence vote pushed by
Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, who
then replaced him as Spain’s leader.
Sáenz de Santamaría was a close ally of Rajoy
and, as his point-person on the Catalan crisis,
took a tough stance against the separatists. After
Madrid ruled last year’s independence
referendum illegal and imposed direct rule, she
was put in charge of the region’s administration .
Other contenders for the party leadership include
former Foreign Minister José Manuel García
Margallo , former party spokesman Pablo Casado,
and current PP Secretary-General María Dolores

de Cospedal.