Madrid_ The general secretary of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez, became today the new president of the Spanish Government, after the Congress dismissed Mariano Rajoy, Prensa Latina reports.

Rajoy, whose second term started in 2016, was ousted by the lower House by an overwhelming majority of 180 of its 350 lawmakers, who approved a motion of censure against him, after several corruption scandals within his organization, the conservative Popular Party (PP).

Precisely, those scandals, in addition to his poor handling of the Catalonian secessionist conflict, sped up the demise of the 63-year-old politician, who became president for the first time in 2011, after two previous failed attempts.

It is the first time in nearly 40 years of Spanish democracy that the Congress approves a motion of censure, although four such initiatives, including two against Rajoy, were submitted to vote during that period.

Sanchez noted that the motion filed by the social-democrats resulted from the president's incapacity to assume his political responsibilities after the 'demolishing' sentence in the Gürtel case, which would have accelerated his resignation in other democracies.

The PSOE leader and new president referred to the court's ruling on that case, which is considered one of the major corruption scandals in Spain's recent history.

Sanchez accused Rajoy of weakening Spanish democracy by holding on to his seat in La Moncloa.

 

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