Spain’s Mariano Rajoy ousted in no-confidence vote
Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will be sworn in as premier in the coming days
Madrid — Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was defeated on Friday, overwhelmed by the drumbeat of corruption revelations that has grown throughout his seven years in office. Rajoy was ousted by a no-confidence vote in Parliament after the anti-establishment group Podemos and Catalan separatist groups lined up behind Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez. Sanchez is due to be sworn in as premier by King Felipe in the coming days. In a brief speech to parliament before the vote, Rajoy accepted defeat and wished his successor well. "I will accept as a democrat the result of the vote as it is well known," Rajoy said. "I can’t agree with what has been done." Elected by a landslide in 2011 as Spain’s property crash spiralled into a full-blown financial crash, Rajoy took a European bail-out to fix the country’s banking system and laid the foundations for an economic rebound that’s now in its fifth year. Catalans and corruption But the seeds of his demise were there from the start. His 2010 leg...
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