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132-589: For the 2016 general election , it was then registered as a party under the En Comú Podem−Guanyem el Canvi label ( Catalan for "In Common We Can−Let's Win Change"). Ahead of the 2019 Spanish general election , the alliance maintained its 2016 label, but was reforged as a continuation of the Catalunya en Comú–Podem alliance, the coalition of Catalunya en Comú and Podemos in the 2017 Catalan regional election . For

264-414: A snap election , provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot. Barred this exception, there

396-563: A "symbolic" position in the list for Barcelona. Under the promise of holding a legal and binding referendum on independence if accessing the national government , En Comú Podem emerged as the largest force in Catalonia in the 20 December general election, securing 24.7% of the share and 12 seats in the Congress of Deputies . The alliance was renewed for the 2016 general election , with an unsuccessful attempt to incorporate Pirates of Catalonia into

528-627: A Podemos-led cabinet. Once his electoral coalition with IU had been formalized, Iglesias again reiterated his wish to see the PSOE "as an ally"—despite the Socialists having rejected Podemos' offer for an alliance to the Senate—and put overtaking the PP as his target. For the first time since 2011, the anniversary of the 15-M Movement came marked by the pre-electoral campaign of a general election. UP, self-declared as

660-691: A candidate for prime minister. On 3 May 2016, the King exercised the constitutional mandate and triggered an election—with the endorsement of President of the Congress Patxi López —by issuing a royal decree dissolving the Parliament. This marked the first time since the transition to democracy that an election was called under Article 99.5 of the Constitution , wherein initiative for the Cortes' dissolution belonged to

792-570: A finger in the accident. His criticisms of the Zapatero administration were focused on what he perceived as: In foreign policy : Rajoy faced a serious situation within his party when he came under public pressure from the electorally successful Alberto Ruiz Gallardón (Madrid's Mayor) to be included in the PP ;lists for the March 2008 general election . Gallardón represents a more centrist sector within

924-583: A firm stance on the issue but Íñigo Errejón stated that his party would "go to all debates, always sending spokespeople at the same level as those sent by other political forces", thus opening the door for Iglesias not attending debates if other parties did not send their prime ministerial candidates. As neither Rajoy nor Sánchez confirmed their presence at the Charles III debate, the Demos Association announced its cancellation on 30 May. A four-way debate

1056-597: A joint list to contest the upcoming general election in Catalonia . An agreement was reached on 28 October 2015 to constitute an alliance under the "En Comú Podem" label, aiming at mirroring Colau's success in the 2015 Barcelona local election . If successful, the alliance was planned to be maintained in a permanent level ahead of future electoral contests. The candidacy was to be led into the election by historian Xavier Domènech , comprising members from Podemos, ICV, EUiA, Barcelona en Comú and Equo and featuring Colau herself in

1188-563: A letter sent by Bárcenas himself to Rajoy in April 2010 (just a few days after he [Bárcenas] had been officially "removed" from his duties as treasurer) informing Rajoy of his "re-incorporation" in the party. On 26 November 2014, Ana Mato , Minister of Health , resigned due to the involvement of herself and her husband Jesús Sepúlveda in the Gürtel case . He testified in Audiencia Nacional as

1320-633: A major restructuring of the Spanish financial system as well as a major labour reform. The financial crisis peaked with a bailout of the Spanish banking system in June 2012. Unemployment in Spain peaked at 27% in 2012, which led to an initial drop of the People's Party in the polls, which was aggravated by the revelations of a series of corruption cases that seriously damaged the party's reputation. This, among other factors, led to

1452-532: A majority on their own, attention focused on the PSOE as it underwent a leadership crisis. The PP wanted the Socialists to either abstain in Rajoy's investiture vote or join them in a grand coalition , C's put pressure on the PSOE to abstain and avoid a snap election , while Podemos suggested that Sánchez had lost control of his party. PSOE and C's feared that a new election could harm them and benefit both PP and Podemos. A persistent wave of corruption scandals struck

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1584-412: A new historical low. Albert Rivera 's Citizens (C's) suffered from the electoral system as well as from tactical voting to the PP and fell to 32 seats. Overall, a potential PP–C's bloc secured 6 more seats than before, but remained short of an overall majority. With the political deadlock settling in, commentators suggested that a new, third election could be eventually needed. Electoral setbacks for

1716-497: A political party within an "instrumental" coalition, in order to preserve its previous electoral rights. This ultimately proved to not be enough, and in July 2016, ECP renounced to form its own group and joined Unidos Podemos's one, though it would attempt to reform the Congress's regulations for them to allow the formation of such group throughout the term of the resulting parliament . After

1848-464: A profound shift in the Spanish party system, with the rise of new political parties from the left and the right: Podemos and Citizens . The 2015 general election led to a parliamentary configuration that made the formation of a government very difficult; as a result, Spain was without a government for over six months and new elections were held in June 2016 . Rajoy was finally appointed prime minister with

1980-565: A result of ECP being a coalition comprising Podemos—which had also contested the general election elsewhere in Spain—and due to the legal impossibility for parties "not competing each other in the election" to form separate groups, forcing ECP-elected deputies to join a "confederal" group with Podemos. In the electoral repetition of 2016, and in order to try to circumvent this legal clause, the newly-established Unidos Podemos alliance signed that it would not be running in Catalonia as ECP would stand as

2112-589: A result of his involvement in the Panama Papers scandal and his confusing and inconsistent statements on the issue. While negotiations to form a government were underway, Spain's public deficit for 2015 was announced as 5.2%, well above the 4.2% target agreed with the European Union and even exceeding the European Commission (EC) forecast of 4.8%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded that

2244-687: A scandal involving the fraudulent awarding of public contracts. "Operation Taula", a major police operation in Valencia that took place on 26 January 2016, resulted in the arrest of several former and incumbent high-ranking members of the regional PP branch, as part of the ongoing investigation into PP corruption in the region during its time in government. By early February, a massive illegal financing network had been uncovered connected with PPCV , with dozens of party officials and city councillors indicted or arrested. The judicial investigation also implicated long-serving former Mayor of Valencia Rita Barberá in

2376-591: A shorter campaign or for cuts to affect election debates. As some of these proposals required changes in the electoral law—something which could not happen as the Cortes would be dissolved —parties called for reaching a gentlemen's agreement ; in Albert Rivera 's words, "a political pact through which changing the law wouldn't be necessary". However, negotiations held to discuss the reduction of electoral spending failed to produce an agreement, with parties expected to cut their spending at will. As parties geared up for

2508-477: A system known as "begged" or expat vote ( Spanish : Voto rogado ). For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation , with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain , with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and

2640-434: A teenager, breaking his glasses. All the political parties, unanimously, condemned the attack. In the general election of 26 June 2016, the PP increased its number of seats in parliament, while still falling short of an overall majority. Eventually on 29 October Rajoy was re-appointed as prime minister, after the majority of the PSOE members abstained in the parliamentary vote rather than oppose him. In February 2016, Rajoy

2772-506: A week until, on 2 February, the King invited Pedro Sánchez to form a government. After several weeks of negotiations between parties, the PSOE announced a surprise government deal with C's on 24 February. However, the form and content of the agreement met with criticism from parties both on the left and right of the spectrum, including PP and Podemos. The PP stated its opposition to the PSOE–C's pact, refusing to cede to C's demands to abstain in

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2904-425: A witness in the framework of the investigation into the Gürtel corruption scandal , of the illegal financing of his party. He is the first PM in Spain in service to attend a trial. Although he benefited from this corruption scheme, he denied any knowledge. This situation prompted a no-confidence motion against Rajoy's government , which was debated on 13 June and defeated as expected on 14 June. Pío García-Escudero ,

3036-411: A €2 billion fine, while demanding additional spending cuts worth €8 billion. Despite the government's denial that new cuts would be needed, a letter leaked on 23 May revealed that Rajoy would be willing to impose additional spending cuts "once a new government was formed" after 26 June election, sparking criticism from opposition parties, who accused the PP of lying to the public. On 24 June,

3168-625: The 2021 Catalan regional election , ran under the En Comú Podem−Podem en Comú label (English: "In Common We Can−We Can In Common" ). The alliance was dissolved ahead of the 2024 Catalan regional election . Following the negative results of the Catalunya Sí que es Pot alliance in the 2015 Catalan regional election , Podemos , Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and United and Alternative Left (EUiA) started negotiations with Barcelona en Comú — Barcelona mayor Ada Colau 's party—to form

3300-472: The Balearic Islands ahead of a prospective election alliance, aiming at forming a "grand coalition of the left" in the islands. Podemos tried to probe PACMA for a common nationwide list for the 2016 election, but this was rejected by the latter as it perceived that Podemos was "not clear enough on the issue of banning bullfighting ". Already from 20 April, both Podemos and IU-UPeC started exploring

3432-458: The Congress of Deputies , Sánchez thus becoming the first candidate ever to fail an investiture vote. Negotiations continued throughout March and April, but antipathy between Podemos and C's made any three-party pact between PSOE, Podemos and C's impossible. The PP pressured the PSOE to join a grand coalition , a scenario which the latter rejected. A final round of talks on 25–26 April proved inconclusive, with King Felipe VI failing to nominate

3564-623: The Cortes Generales —the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election

3696-547: The IBEX 35 —the benchmark stock market index of Spain's stock exchange —plummeted by 12.3%, the largest fall in its history, as a result of the ' Leave ' choice winning in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum . On 22 January, Mariano Rajoy turned down King Felipe VI 's invitation to form a government after Podemos offered a coalition proposal to the PSOE, also including IU, with Sánchez as prime minister and Pablo Iglesias as his deputy. This offer shocked

3828-447: The People's Party (PP), which would be fighting to maintain first place nationally. The Unidos Podemos alliance suffered a surprise decline in votes and vote share compared to the previous election, while the PP increased its number of votes and seats as well as its margin of victory. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) clung to second place despite losing votes and seats, scoring

3960-599: The President of the Senate also testified as a witness in the same investigation. On 26 April 2018, his former Minister of Justice , Alberto Ruiz Gallardón , was imputed by the judge for his involvement in the corruption scandal Case Lezo, which involves leaders of the PP in the Community of Madrid . The 2015 general election was held on 20 December, the latest possible day. The result

4092-474: The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. The newspaper El País published in its edition of 30 January 2013 a series of documents, under the title of " Bárcenas ' secret papers", referring to the accounts of the conservative party from 1999 to 2009. According to those hand-written documents, Mariano Rajoy and María Dolores de Cospedal had received extra payments in "black" money from the former treasurer of

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4224-673: The Supreme Court , accusing them of diversion of public funds and misappropriation. Mariano Rajoy was accused of receiving a subsistence allowance despite the fact that he was living in the Moncloa Palace in Madrid. The lawsuit before the Supreme Court was a consequence of the data which had appeared in the media providing information about several deputies who had houses in Madrid but at the same time were receiving extra funds for lodging. According to

4356-713: The Xunta de Galicia . On 11 June 1983, Rajoy was elected President of the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra , a position he held until 10 December 1986. In the General Elections of 22 June 1986, he won a seat in the Congress of Deputies as the head of the AP's list for Pontevedra , although he resigned in November to take up the post of vice-president of the Xunta of Galicia following

4488-484: The centre , with some fearing it could run down the path of the Greek PASOK . As the newly formed Unidos Podemos alliance was announced on early May, the PSOE found itself under threat of being marginalised as both PP and UP sought to polarise the campaign between the two. Sánchez tried to remain in the spotlight and cast off the phantom of party internal division by releasing a series of key announcements throughout

4620-463: The public work contract kickbacks from the Punica case could also involve possible illegal financing of the PP branch in the region . Esperanza Aguirre , former President of Madrid from 2003 to 2012 and president of the party's regional branch since 2004, resigned as regional leader on 14 February as a consequence of the scandal's political fallout, emphasising her lack of "direct responsibility" for

4752-480: The 12 autonomous communities agree their own austerity plans within 15 days to freeze public spending. Other economic data for the first quarter of 2016 showed the Spanish economy growing by 0.8% on the previous quarter , but with unemployment increasing slightly by 11,900, to 21%. As a result of Spain not meeting its deficit target, the EC gave the country an additional year to meet its deficit requirements, but proposed

4884-523: The 2015 election under the Democracy and Freedom (DL) banner—made an offer to ERC to resurrect the unitary coalition in which they both contested the 2015 Catalan regional election . Former Catalonia President Artur Mas offered himself to lead such a coalition into the election if it was eventually formed. ERC, however, rejected the offer and chose to run alone instead. Subsequently, debate arose within CDC on

5016-665: The 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands , districts were the islands themselves, with the larger— Majorca , Gran Canaria and Tenerife —being allocated three seats each, and the smaller— Menorca , Ibiza – Formentera , Fuerteventura , La Gomera , El Hierro , Lanzarote and La Palma —one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants. The term of each chamber of

5148-553: The 8 seats at stake in the December election. Meanwhile, in Navarre , both Navarrese People's Union and PP were likely to maintain their alliance ahead of the upcoming general election, aiming at keeping their status as the first political force in the region. Izquierda-Ezkerra started talks with Podemos ahead of an alliance, whereas Geroa Bai and EH Bildu were open to "exploring" coalition possibilities after failing to make headway in

5280-529: The Congress in the region after the 2015 election. After Podemos and I-E rejected their offer of building a common platform, both parties studied the option of running together, but ended up discarding such a possibility. Both PSOE and NCa announced their intention of continuing their alliance in the Canary Islands , whereas the PP offered to maintain its alliance with PAR in Aragon. CDC —which contested

5412-459: The Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies. Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election: In Asturias , Asturias Forum announced its intention to continue their electoral coalition with the People's Party , due to the PP–FAC tandem obtaining 3 out of

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5544-417: The December election—both announced their withdrawal from PSOE lists ahead of the June election. Concurrently, PSOE leaders had tried to pressure IU into avoiding an electoral alliance with Podemos out of fear of being pushed into third place nationally, with some commenting that the party's actions had been erratic and confusing throughout negotiations. Coupled with growing pessimism within PSOE ranks, this

5676-425: The December run. Iglesias offered to explore the possibility of an accord with PSOE after the election, expressing his will to form a "progressive" government, but condemned the way the PSOE had—in his view—treated his party up until that point. During an interview held a few days later, Iglesias took for granted that his party had already surpassed the PSOE nationally and stated he would offer Sánchez be his deputy in

5808-584: The Government of the Basque Country, as Interior Minister. In this role, he passed legislation including the Organic Law on the right of association, approved the decree implementing the Organic Law on the rights and duties of foreigners, and presented the draft law on the prevention of alcoholism. In the major cabinet reshuffle of 9 July 2002, he became minister of the presidency, retained his vice presidency and

5940-434: The King and not to the prime minister. The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution. The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry , coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform

6072-495: The Ministry of Economy and Finance was split into two new ministries. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was kept intact, despite statements made by Rajoy speech before Congress that indicated the opposite intention. Among the ministers, Cristóbal Montoro Romero , Minister of Finance, and Miguel Arias Cañete , Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, had been members of the previous Aznar government and continued to occupy

6204-503: The Movement's political heir, intended to use the event as a launching point for its campaign. Various nods to 15-M were made: the announcement of the Podemos–IU alliance was staged on 9 May at Puerta del Sol , long-regarded as a symbol and focal point for 15-M. Concurrently, Podemos launched an "accountability" campaign under the 'Congress in your square' label "to regain the connection with

6336-533: The PP government in the first successful motion of no confidence since the Spanish transition to democracy . The Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system. The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate , having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes. Nonetheless,

6468-442: The PP throughout the negotiation process. On 22 January, the PP became the first party ever to be charged in a corruption case, after being accused of destroying Bárcenas' hard drives in 2013, which had allegedly contained information related to the party's illegal funding. The same day, a key member of Deputy PM Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría 's staff was forced to resign from his post after it was discovered that he had been involved in

6600-452: The PP to prevent Podemos ' rise. Albert Rivera said that the PP was "controlled by its 'old guard'" and that his party would not negotiate with the PP so long as Rajoy remained as leader. The PSOE suffered from the end of the negotiations period. Carme Chacón —former Defence Minister under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero —and Irene Lozano —an independent , formerly aligned to UPyD , personally enlisted into PSOE by Pedro Sánchez for

6732-460: The PP to try to form a government on its own, and the possibility of a PSOE-Podemos pact faded. President of Andalusia Susana Díaz , who was reported to be leading an open rebellion within the party, was said to be seeking to replace Sánchez as party leader and to eventually lead the PSOE into a new general election in 2016. As neither of the two possible pacts between the major parties ( PP – C's or PSOE–Podemos) had enough deputies to command

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6864-426: The PSOE after it was announced that a new election would be held, with party leaders stating that it "won't be in force anymore" once the Cortes were dissolved. However, they wanted to use the accord as a showing of the party's "willingness to negotiate" with forces both to the left and right of the spectrum. The party's main aim was to prevent that a possible campaign polarization could cast " fearful " voters away to

6996-491: The PSOE in opinion polling ahead of the election. Mariano Rajoy This is an accepted version of this page Mariano Rajoy Brey ( Galician: [maɾiˈanʊ raˈʃoj] , Spanish: [maˈɾjano raˈxoj] ; born 27 March 1955), is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party leader. He became Leader of

7128-518: The PSOE in the Basque and Galician regional elections held on 25 September 2016 unleashed a party crisis which led to Pedro Sánchez 's ouster as leader on 1 October. An interim party leadership was appointed, which chose to abstain to allow government formation and prevent a third general election. As a result, Mariano Rajoy was re-elected as prime minister for a second term in office on 29 October amid public outcry and protest at PSOE's U-turn , which

7260-437: The PSOE, under the leadership of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero , won the elections with a majority of 1,300,000 votes over the PP, and obtained 164 deputies, while the PP obtained 9,763,144 votes but 148 deputies, 35 less than they obtained in 2000. Rajoy was elected for the province of Madrid . On 1 December 2005, Rajoy survived a helicopter accident, along with Madrid Regional Government President Esperanza Aguirre ; he broke

7392-527: The PSOE—which suddenly found itself at the mercy of Iglesias' party—with prominent PSOE figures describing the proposal as an "insult" and "blackmail". The next day, Sánchez also declined to run for the investiture until Rajoy had clarified whether he would make his own attempt at government formation or step back definitely. Corruption scandals concerning the PP caused other parties to reject them and withdraw from negotiations with Rajoy. This situation lasted for

7524-514: The People's Party had been illegally financed for 20 years. The following day, the same newspaper published the originals of Barcenas' papers which reflected overpayments to Mariano Rajoy in 1997, 1998 and 1999, when he was a minister in the Aznar cabinet. These payments violated the Incompatibilities Act of 1995. On 14 July, El Mundo published several text messages between Rajoy and Bárcenas,

7656-471: The People's Party in 2004 and prime minister in 2011 following the People's Party landslide victory in that year's general election , becoming the sixth president of the Spanish Government. The party lost its majority in the 2015 general election , but after that election ended in deadlock, a second election in 2016 enabled Rajoy to be reelected prime minister as head of a minority government. Rajoy

7788-452: The People's Party, Luis Bárcenas. These documents state that both Bárcenas and his predecessor, Álvaro Lapuerta , managed cash donations from businessmen and private builders (three of whom are additionally accused in the Gürtel case), cited as sources of undeclared income of the PP. Expenditure included, apart from allocations for the effective functioning of the party, payments made to members of

7920-449: The Senate possessed a few exclusive (yet limited in number) functions—such as its role in constitutional amendment —which were not subject to the Congress' override. Voting for the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage , which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Spaniards abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote,

8052-535: The Senate under the "Valencian Accord" label (In Valencian : Acord Valencià ), refused to acknowledge Sánchez's command, threatening a schism in PSOE ranks as the party's national leadership tried to override their regional counterpart. After several days of conflict, the PSPV acquiesced to Sánchez's demand on 13 May, reluctantly rejecting the alliance with Compromís-Podemos. Podemos aimed at enlarging its alliance system from December, seeking to conglomerate all forces to

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8184-449: The Spanish people are paying the price for that". He promised he would shepherd Spain out of its crisis and recover the shaky confidence of international investors and reduce the government's ominously high borrowing costs. The debt crisis in Greece had raised concerns over the solvency of other weak economies like Spain. The PP campaign slogan called on voters to "Join the change!" and

8316-592: The architects of the Galician Statute of Autonomy (1936) ( Estatuto de autonomía de Galicia ), who was removed from university teaching by the Franco dictatorship in the early 1950s. He is the son of Olga Brey López and Mariano Rajoy Sobredo , a jurist, and president of the Provincial Court of Pontevedra , the city where he grew up. Later on, his father was transferred to León and the whole family moved there. He

8448-432: The association DRY, these representatives, who could be lodged at no cost to the public purse, were paid a monthly subsistence allowance valued at €1,823.36. Furthermore, if they had been elected by the constituency of Madrid and had a house in this city, they were allowed €870 a month to cover accommodation and food expenses resulting from the exercise of their functions that, with respect to Rajoy, were already covered – from

8580-462: The attacks, and on 13 March, Rajoy claimed to believe this because he was convinced of their will and capability for committing such crimes. The government was accused of attempting to blame ETA for the attacks in order to stay on track to win the elections (as they were favored to do), but then the Prisa center-left media company broke news that Al‑Qaida, rather than ETA, was responsible. On 14 March 2004

8712-550: The campaign trail in 2011, Rajoy published his autobiography, En Confianza ( In Confidence ). Earlier member of the Spanish National Union (UNE), Rajoy joined the right-wing party People's Alliance (AP), becoming a deputy in the inaugural legislature of the Galician Parliament in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed by Galician regional president, Xerardo Fernández Albor , as Minister of Institutional Relations of

8844-510: The campaign's length to 10 days and removing external advertising—namely that involving advertising through billboards and flags. The PSOE suggested reducing campaign spending by 30%, cutting mailing spending and removing external advertising. Podemos and C's proposed unifying party mailing, with C's being favourable to cutting party spending by 50%. Podemos went further and suggested limiting parties' spending to 3 million each. All three PSOE, Podemos and C's were against PP's proposal of making

8976-587: The city of Valencia—the third largest in Spain, which had seen 24 years of PP rule under Barberá's command—and rumours circulating of a reformation of the party in the region. On 11 February, the scandal spread to Madrid when the Civil Guard was sent to search PP's main headquarters as part of the ongoing investigation resulting from the Operation Punica scandal, uncovered in October 2014. Evidence suggested that

9108-626: The confidence of Congress, the King shall dissolve both chambers and call a new election, with the endorsement of the President of the Congress of Deputies ." A crisis developed within the PSOE after the December election result, with critics accusing Secretary-General Pedro Sánchez of lack of self-criticism ahead of PSOE's spring leadership election . While Sánchez favoured trying to reach an agreement with Podemos , regional party leaders refused to accept Podemos' negotiation terms and instead favoured allowing

9240-400: The country's return to representative democracy in the 1970s, securing 186 out of the 350 seats in the lower house of Parliament. Voters turned to him in hopes of alleviating the pain of Europe's debt crisis . Following the general election held in 2011, Rajoy was elected prime minister by the Congress of Deputies on 20 December 2011. Rajoy, designated candidate for Prime Minister of

9372-481: The documents, one million people had signed a petition launched by the organization Change.org asking for the immediate resignation of Mariano Rajoy. On 8 July, the center-right newspaper El Mundo , usually a support of the Popular Party, published a four-hour interview with Luis Bárcenas, which had taken place a few days before he was put behind bars on 27 June, in which the former party treasurer revealed that

9504-473: The first weeks of May. Margarita Robles—a judge from the Spanish Supreme Court and former Interior State Secretary under Felipe González —and Josep Borrell —former Public Works Minister —were announced to be signing up for Sánchez's campaign; concurrently, Susana Díaz accepted to officially present Sánchez's proclamation as PSOE candidate, in a move seen as an act of apparent "reconciliation" between

9636-450: The format of 14 December debate—allegedly after a harsh confrontation with Sánchez following the latter referring to Rajoy as "indecent". The PSOE announced that Sánchez would not attend a debate with Iglesias and Rivera if Rajoy was not present as well. C's made Rivera's presence conditional on either Rajoy attending or having an empty lectern put in his place, but would not accept the PP sending another person instead. Podemos did not take

9768-426: The government in the 2004 general elections, he was chosen as future PP leader on 1 September 2003 and left the government two days later. On 30 August 2003, Aznar announced that he would retire from politics in the 2004 elections and proposed Rajoy as his successor. Rajoy was elected Secretary General of the party the following day, and led the party into the 2004 elections . However, the PP's large lead evaporated in

9900-472: The government of King Juan Carlos I , appeared before the Congress of Deputies on 19 December 2011. He stated that to achieve the objective of a deficit of 4.4% of GDP in 2012, an investment of €16,500,000,000 would be needed. He added that his only increased public spending would be the revaluation of pensions, beginning 1 January 2012, and that he would not create any new jobs in the public sector, except for security forces. He stated an intention "to reduce

10032-404: The group's intention to have a four-way debate, scheduled for 16 June, similar to the one held on 7 December. This time, Mariano Rajoy was willing to attend a four-way leaders' debate—unlike the previous election campaign, in which his party sent Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría instead. The PP was, however, unconvinced of holding another two-way debate with Pedro Sánchez , with Rajoy displeased with

10164-513: The imposition of direct rule in Catalonia. At 14 years and 146 days, Rajoy was the longest-serving Spanish politician in the Government of Spain since the Spanish transition to democracy , having held ministerial offices continuously from 1996 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2018. Born 27 March 1955 in Santiago de Compostela , A Coruña , Galicia, Rajoy is the grandson of Enrique Rajoy Leloup , one of

10296-488: The incoming campaign started after the Cortes' dissolution. As in the previous election, the first debate was organised by the Demos Association, to be held in the Charles III University of Madrid on 6 June. The leaders of the four main parties were invited, with Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera confirming their presence but making it conditional on Rajoy and Sánchez attending as well. Atresmedia also announced

10428-509: The investiture on an agreement they described as "a farce". On the other hand, Podemos and other left-wing parties felt betrayed and broke off negotiations with PSOE, viewing the deal as an unholy alliance between the two formerly opposed parties. Other minor parties, such as the ERC , DL , PNV and EH Bildu , also announced their opposition. As a result, Pedro Sánchez's investiture was rejected on 4 March by an overwhelming majority of 219 to 131 in

10560-413: The large 2015 deficit translate into "substantial fiscal tightening", blaming the deficit on the PP government's 2015 decision to cut taxes for the election year. On 16 April, the government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2016 from 3% to 2.7%. As a result, Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro announced €2 billion of spending cuts in order to curb the public deficit, while also demanding that

10692-466: The latest dating from early 2013, after the discovery of Bárcenas' bank accounts in Switzerland and after some media had pointed to illegal payments within the PP. In those messages, Rajoy expressed his support to Bárcenas and asked him to keep quiet. In light of these new revelations, High Court judge Pablo Ruz summoned Bárcenas to appear before him on 15 July. In this new appearance, Bárcenas admitted

10824-661: The launching of Más País by former Podemos founder Íñigo Errejón ahead of the November 2019 Spanish general election and his announcement of a general agreement with Equo to run in alliance in a number of constituencies, including Barcelona , Equo's branch in Catalonia refused to join Errejón's lists and pledged its support to the En Comú Podem alliance. 2016 Spanish general election Mariano Rajoy (acting) PP Mariano Rajoy PP The 2016 Spanish general election

10956-624: The leadership of the party during those years with no explicitly stated purpose. Barcenas' accounts show yearly payments of 25,200 euros for 11 years to the President, in addition to smaller amounts for a total estimated at 33,207 with purposes such as "Mariano's suits", "Mariano's ties", or "M.R.'s suits". PP Secretary-General María Dolores de Cospedal appears in the papers of these payments, as well as other leaders, such as former ministers Javier Arenas , Jaime Mayor Oreja and Francisco Álvarez-Cascos . By 7 February, just one week after publication of

11088-430: The left of PSOE in a single, unitary alliance for the 2016 election. Both En Comú Podem and En Marea had already announced their intention to continue their successful coalitions, while Compromís ' leaders expressed their will to renew their alliance with Podemos but also seeking to include EUPV , which had been left out of the coalition for the previous election. Talks between Podemos and Més had also started in

11220-408: The lists despite the party having initially expressed interest in doing so. ECP maintained its status as the largest political list in Catalonia on 26 June, but fell short of achieving a landslide victory at the scale predicted by opinion polls. ECP initially aimed at forming its own parliamentary group, separately from Podemos. However, this move was blocked by the board of the Congress of Deputies as

11352-424: The main themes going into the June election was the economic cost that a new campaign would mean for the budget. During the final round of talks, King Felipe VI —anticipating a fresh election—had asked parties to run austere campaigns. The PP proposed that the party avoid large scale rallies, aiming at running a "simpler" campaign—with smaller events in medium-sized cities and towns —while also suggesting reducing

11484-473: The most fragmented Congress of Deputies in recent times. This raised the possibility that, for the first time since the Spanish transition to democracy , parliamentary deadlock over the investiture of a prime minister would require a new election to be held. According to Article 99.5 of the Spanish Constitution , "if within a period of two months from the first investiture vote no candidate has obtained

11616-606: The move into national politics in Aznar's first government when he was appointed Minister of Public Administration on 6 May. His term was marked by the adoption, in 1997, of the Law on organization and operation of the general administration of the State (LOFAGE), which regulates the organization and functions of central government, and the Law on Government. He changed his portfolio on 20 January 1999 and replaced Esperanza Aguirre as Minister of Education and Culture . Just after his appointment, he

11748-535: The newly formed Podemos-IU alliance offered a nationwide alliance with PSOE to contest the Senate election, in an effort to prevent a new PP absolute majority in that chamber. Pedro Sánchez rejected such a possibility as negotiations were already underway in Aragon , Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community . However, the party's Valencian branch , which advocated for an alliance with Compromís and Podemos for

11880-767: The next day at the Zarzuela Palace , before the King and Queen, Zapatero, the outgoing prime minister, and the Presidents of the Cortes Generales, and others. Rajoy's government was formed on 21 December 2011 with thirteen ministers—the lowest number in Spanish democratic history. Soraya Saenz de Santamaria , Vice President of the Government, Minister of the Presidency, and government spokesperson, and Ana Pastor Julián , Minister of Equipment, were appointed. The Ministries of Culture, Science, and Territorial Policy were ended, and

12012-463: The opportunity to continue the DL alliance or to opt for alternative formulas to contest the election. Democrats of Catalonia and Reagrupament , CDC's allies within DL, suggested rebranding the alliance as "Together for Catalonia" (JxCat) and demanded it to be led by an independent . CDC leaders rejected this proposal and announced on 9 May that they were contesting the election on their own. On 10 May,

12144-399: The opposition for trying to "criminalize" him by believing the word of an "offender", stating that he wasn't resigning nor calling new elections. Rajoy also stated that Bárcenas was no longer a member of the PP when he, Rajoy, was appointed prime minister (in December 2011). However, on 11 August, El Mundo published a paysheet, dated May 2012, issued by the PP for the ex-treasurer, as well as

12276-575: The party manifesto stressed its commitment to cutting the country's budget deficit in line with EU requirements. It proposed tax breaks for savers and small firms who hired staff; benefits for those who took on young employees; more flexible labour contracts and wage negotiations and major cuts in red tape , to encourage entrepreneurs to set up businesses. At the same time, it pledged to protect public healthcare and education, saving money through efficiency and better management. In November 2011, Rajoy's right-wing People's Party won its biggest majority since

12408-411: The party, whereas Rajoy, Angel Acebes and Eduardo Zaplana are widely accepted as representing a more conservative wing of the party, closer to Aznar . Rajoy's final decision was to leave Gallardón out of the list for those elections, an action which provoked concern about the alienation of potential PP voters. Some experts and newspapers even argued that it could cost Rajoy the elections . In any case,

12540-494: The payment of 50,000 euros in 2010 to Rajoy and Dolores de Cospedal. As a result of the scandal, all the opposition parties urged Rajoy to give an explanation to parliament, with the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party threatening him with a censure motion should he refuse to come out and explain himself, and demanding his immediate resignation. In his appearance before Congress, on 1 August, Rajoy admitted that he had made "a mistake" in trusting Bárcenas and criticised

12672-429: The possibility of forming a joint list for a likely fresh election. By 30 April, as the new election was confirmed, both parties acknowledged that talks had formally started and that an agreement was expected to be reached throughout the next week. On 9 May, Pablo Iglesias (Podemos) and Alberto Garzón (IU) officially announced that a formal alliance had been reached and that their parties would be running together in

12804-456: The power struggle for succession created a tense situation for him and for the party. On 30 January 2008, Rajoy received the support of Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy for the March 2008 general election. The PP was defeated in the general election, however, it gained votes and seats, and Rajoy continued to lead his party in opposition. The 2011 general election campaign

12936-439: The public employment service for at least twelve months out of the previous eighteen and whose income amounts were less than three quarters of the net minimum wage. A 4% value-added tax was expanded to include new home purchases. On 4 January 2013 the association Democracia Real Ya (DRY), created after the 15 May 2011 protest movement, brought charges against Mariano Rajoy and another 62 deputies (including four ministers) before

13068-402: The relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or coalitions that had not obtained a mandate in either chamber of

13200-421: The remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting . The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies. As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency

13332-520: The resignation of Xosé Luis Barreiro and the rest of the ministers. He occupied this latter position until the end of September 1987. In May 1988 he was elected General Secretary of the AP in Galicia during an extraordinary congress of the regional party. When in 1989 the AP merged with other parties to form the People's Party (PP), with Manuel Fraga as its president, Rajoy was named a member of its National Executive Committee and delegate for Pontevedra. He

13464-509: The same posts. On 30 December 2011, the Council of Ministers approved a cuts plan (called an austerity plan) amounting to €8,900,000,000 in savings and €6,200,000,000 in new revenues. Salaries of public workers were frozen, the workweek in public administration was reduced to 37.5 hours, and recruitment of new public employees was halted, except in the areas of security, health and education. A programme which provided rent assistance for young people

13596-508: The scandal but "assuming [her] political responsibility" both as party leader and former regional premier. In April, an urban planning corruption scandal was revealed to involve Granada 's mayor and his government, all from PP. Meanwhile, the Spanish Treasury fined former prime minister José María Aznar for evading tax payments through a society. On 15 April, caretaker Industry Minister José Manuel Soria stepped down from his post as

13728-432: The scandal; her arrest or indictment was only prevented due to the fact she had legal immunity as an incumbent senator. A few days later, on 1 February, all PP city councillors in the city of Valencia , including new local party leader Alfonso Novo, were charged with a possible money laundering offence, along with most members of Barberá's previous government. The party found itself at risk of losing its municipal group in

13860-424: The size of the public sector" and also wanted to reform public holidays so as to avoid encouragement of popular four-day weekends. This would be accomplished by incorporating the use of the nearest Monday for most public holidays. He also announced his desire to end the practice of early retirement. Rajoy was chosen by Parliament two days later with 187 votes in favor, 149 votes against and 14 abstentions, receiving

13992-487: The spectrum. Andalusian President Susana Díaz said of it that it was "the reunion of the Communist Youth"; the PP described it as "the old-fashioned communists but with another name". C's leader Albert Rivera commented that his party offered itself "without sickles, hammers nor corruption", in reference both to UP and the PP. After the success of election debates in the 2015 election, the organizing of new debates for

14124-493: The state budget – in the Moncloa Palace. DRY therefore accused them of diversion of public funds and misappropriation. Additionally, DRY demanded that they return all the money that didn't belong to them, particularly bearing in mind that "the cuts are making most Spaniards' life a misery". On 24 April 2013, having found no irregularity in the existing regulation and discarding the existence of constituents elements of offense,

14256-417: The streets". On 15 May, thousands gathered at Puerta del Sol to commemorate the 15-M anniversary; the crowd shouting some of the Movement's most featured slogans, such as the "Yes we can!" warcry—which had also served as Podemos' party slogan ever since its inception. As UP struggled to gain momentum, PP, PSOE and C's turned their attacks on the newborn alliance, trying to corner it to the far-left side of

14388-639: The support of the Citizens party and the abstention of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . Rajoy's second term was marked by economic recovery and a drop in unemployment and the challenge of stagnating salaries. Rajoy also oversaw the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis marked by the Catalan independence referendum of 2017 and the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October 2017 that led to

14520-656: The support of the People's Party, the Forum of Asturias (FAC) and the Navarrese People's Union (UPN), with Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Convergence and Union (CiU), the United Left (IU) and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) dissenting. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), the coalition Amaiur and the Canary Coalition (CC) abstained. He was appointed a few hours later as prime minister by Juan Carlos I and sworn in

14652-413: The two leaders ahead of the election. Sánchez was also expected to announce his "shadow cabinet" on 15 May, and tried to appeal to centrist voters that a vote for him would be a "vote for change". Pablo Iglesias blamed the PSOE for the failure in negotiations and commented that Podemos' aim in the June election would be to directly face the PP as equals, in what he referred to as a "second round" of

14784-405: The upcoming election campaign, the PP faced the fresh election looking back at the corruption scandals under judicial investigation in which the party was involved. Some of such scandals, involving senior party members such as Rita Barberá , stirred up debate as to whether it was best to maintain these people within party ranks or force their withdrawal. C's , on its part, discarded its pact with

14916-624: The upcoming general election. Equo , which had already supported the continuation of its coalition with Podemos, announced it would also participate in the newly formed alliance. The Podemos-IU national accord paved the way for United Left to join the És el moment alliance in the Valencian Community as well. On 13 May, it was announced that the alliance name for the election would be "Unidos Podemos" (Spanish for United We Can ). The key dates are listed below (all times are CET . The Canary Islands used WET ( UTC+0 ) instead): One of

15048-486: The wake of the 11-M bombings , and the PP was heavily defeated by the PSOE. However, Rajoy was not held responsible for the defeat, and was elected party president at the PP's 14th congress in October 2004. On 11 March 2004, three days before the 2004 general elections , Madrid was struck by terrorist attacks , which the government initially blamed on the armed Basque separatist organisation, ETA . Aznar's government and government party leaders insisted on accusing ETA of

15180-493: The way for a repeat election on 26 June. The political deadlock marked the first time that a Spanish election was triggered due to failure in the government formation process. Podemos and United Left (IU) joined forces ahead the election to form the Unidos Podemos alliance, along with several other minor left-wing parties. Opinion polling going into the election predicted a growing polarisation between this alliance and

15312-467: The youngest-ever property registrar . He was assigned to Padrón (A Coruña), Villafranca del Bierzo ( León ) and Santa Pola ( Alicante ), a position he still holds. In that year, Rajoy sustained facial injuries in a traffic accident. Since then, he has always worn a beard to cover the scars from these injuries. Rajoy married Elvira "Viri" Fernández Balboa on 28 December 1996, on La Toja Island (Pontevedra). The couple have two children. While on

15444-562: Was a minister under the José María Aznar administration, occupying different leading roles in different ministries between 1996 and 2003, and he also was the deputy prime minister between 2000 and 2003. He was the Leader of the Opposition between 2004 and 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 's government. Rajoy's first term was heavily marked by the Spanish financial crisis and oversaw

15576-434: Was abolished, and the minimum wage was frozen—something that had not happened since 1966. The income tax and tax on real estate was also increased for 2012 and 2013. Pensions were adjusted up 1%, however, and the tax deduction for the purchase of homes was reinstated. The premium of €400 for the long-term unemployed (due to a lack of industry) at the end of law was maintained but only for those registered as jobseekers with

15708-404: Was also met with opposition from within the party—15 MPs eventually not complying with the party's directive and voting against Rajoy nonetheless. Rajoy's government would only last for 20 months until 2018, as public outcry at the emergence of new corruption scandals and judicial blows to the ruling party would prompt Sánchez—who would secure re-election as PSOE leader in June 2017 —to bring down

15840-502: Was announced to be held on 13 June to be organised by the TV Academy. All four main parties confirmed their presence, with the novelty that Rajoy accepted an invitation to attend as well. Unlike the previous campaign, the PP rejected a two-way debate between Rajoy and Sánchez, on grounds that, according to opinion polls, if a two-way debate was held "it was doubtful which party was to face Rajoy"—in reference to Unidos Podemos having overtaken

15972-596: Was appointed deputy secretary general of the party. He was re-elected in Pontevedra in the election on 6 June 1993. On 3 March 1996, the PP won the early parliamentary elections and formed a government with the support of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV), Convergence and Union (CiU) and the Canarian Coalition (CC). Rajoy, a long-time associate of newly elected prime minister José María Aznar, made

16104-511: Was appointed spokesman of the government. In his new role, he faced two very difficult times of Aznar's second term: the Prestige oil tanker disaster off the coast of Galicia , and the participation of Spain in the Iraq War , at the request of George W. Bush . Approached, with Rodrigo Rato and Jaime Mayor Oreja, to succeed José Maria Aznar at the direction of the PP and as presidential candidate of

16236-710: Was dominated by economic issues. "Election campaign begins, crushed by the economic situation", was the headline in El País on 2 September 2011; the same day, El Mundo claimed that "the unemployment election campaign [had begun]". The high rate of unemployment was a major issue in the campaign. Close to 5 million people were out of work at the time of the election, and 1.5 million households had no wage earners. Rajoy slammed Spain's unemployment rate as "unbearable and unacceptable" as data showed 4,350 people per day losing their jobs in October 2011. The Socialists, he said, "did not know how to manage Spain's economy , and now

16368-665: Was duly enrolled, together with his brothers Luis and Enrique, and spent ten years there before moving to the Jesuit school in Vigo . After finishing secondary school he started university, enrolling in the Law Faculty in Santiago de Compostela. Rajoy graduated from the University of Santiago de Compostela and passed the competitive examination required in Spain to enter into the civil service, becoming

16500-399: Was entitled the following seats: For the Senate, 208 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting system , with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of

16632-535: Was held on 20 December 2015, which meant that the legislature's term would expire on 20 December 2019. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 26 November 2019, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes Generales on Sunday, 19 January 2020. The prime minister had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call

16764-452: Was held on Sunday, 26 June 2016, to elect the 12th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate . No party had secured a majority in the 2015 election , resulting in the most fragmented parliament since 1977. Ensuing negotiations failed to produce a stable governing coalition, paving

16896-460: Was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate. Still, as of 2024 there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution. The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 3 May 2016 after the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting the election date for 26 June and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 19 July. The 2015 election resulted in

17028-560: Was reelected to parliament in 1993. Before the PP's triumph in the 1996 elections, he was a PP-designated member of the Commission of Parliamentary Control of the RTVE . In April, the former president of Castile and León and presidential candidate of the government general elections in 1989, José María Aznar , was elected president of the PP. Confirmed in the National Executive, Mariano Rajoy

17160-424: Was reelected vice-secretary general of the PP during its thirteenth national conference. In 2000 he led the People's Party election campaign for the elections on 12 March, in which they won absolute majority. On 28 April 2000, Rajoy was appointed Senior Vice President of Government and Minister of the Presidency. Less than a year later, on 28 February 2001, he replaced Jaime Mayor Oreja , candidate for President of

17292-414: Was said to potentially be able to harm them going into the campaign. On 30 April, Sánchez tried to stir up morale among party members and asked for "unity and trust" around him ahead of the new election. Susana Díaz , Sánchez's rival for the party's leadership, warned him that she would only accept "a PSOE win". Once the hegemonic party of the Spanish left, the PSOE had been pushed out of the left and into

17424-399: Was that the People's Party remained the most voted-for party, but it lost 64 of its 187 seats and thus its majority. The election produced a fragmented parliament and an uncertain political situation that led to another election in 2016, as neither Rajoy nor the left-wing opposition could form a coalition government . During the electoral campaign, on 16 December, he was punched in the face by

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