MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s conservatives shifted to the right on Saturday, electing a traditionalist as leader as they seek to re-establish a clear political identity less than two months after being removed from government.

Pablo Casado won a clear victory in the ballot of People’s Party (PP) members, and launched his mandate with a call for party unity, a stronger Spain at the heart of Europe and tougher laws to stave off any moves towards independence by its regions.

He won 1,701 votes in a ballot of lawmakers and other senior PP members, easily seeing off the challenge of Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who received 1,250. She served as deputy to former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s during his six-plus years in office.

Rajoy was ousted in a no-confidence vote in June, his authority undermined by a corruption scandal involving PP officials and a perceived failure to quell an illegal independence drive in the northeastern region of Catalonia.

Following a leadership race that exposed divisions within the party, Casado told members in his acceptance speech: “The PP is back. We can’t waste another minute speaking about ourselves. We must start talking about Spain again.”

He also said he wanted to strengthen the penal code to avoid any further secessionist moves within the country.

A lawmaker from the northern Spanish city of Palencia, Casado joined the PP in 2003. He has called for a return to traditional conservative values of “life and family” and is on record as opposing abortion.

Rajoy’s departure brought the Socialists into office, and one of the first decisions Casado will face is the extent to which the PP should give parliamentary support to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government.

In a message of congratulation on Twitter, Sanchez said he wished Casado - who will also be the PP’s next candidate for prime minister - “strength for the task ahead” and that the government would strive for economic growth and a reconstructed welfare state.

Signalling likely tensions between the two parties over fiscal issues, Casado criticised plans by the Socialists to raise taxes, saying he would push for lower income and corporate taxes to increase competitiveness.

The 2019 budget plan, which includes the largest rise in the spending ceiling since 2014 and increases in deficit targets, is expected to be submitted to parliament next week.

Casado pledged to strengthen the country’s role at the heart of Europe, adding: “If there is isolationism, if there is protectionism, Spain must again be a central part of the European Union.”

Casado’s opponent Saenz de Santamaria was considered a more moderate voice in the PP, representing a continuation of Rajoy’s policies.

The party has lost voter support in recent years, notably to new market-friendly party Ciudadanos and ran a minority government under Rajoy with 134 out of 350 parliamentary seats.

But the Socialists hold just 84 seats, forcing it to agree pacts with smaller parties to win the no-confidence motion and raising doubts as to whether Sanchez can stay in office until the next scheduled national election in 2020.</s>Choosing between two candidates, Spain's center-right Popular Party on Saturday will elect its new president who will have the task of keeping the party together as well as regenerating it with a view to winning the next general election scheduled for 2020.

Spain's former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, and leader and spokesperson of the party Pablo Casado, will vie for the support of 3,082 delegates in a secret ballot during the PP's 19th National Congress, which began on Friday.</s>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012.</s>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012.</s>Spain's conservative People's Party (PP) has picked Pablo Casado to replace Mariano Rajoy after the former prime minister was ousted in a no-confidence vote in June.

Casado on Saturday beat challenger Soraya Saenz de Santamaria by 1,701 to 1,250 votes, in a ballot of lawmakers and other senior PP members.

The appointment of 37-year-old Casado, who has promised a generational revamp of the opposition party, will be seen as a lurch to the right for the PP.

He has taken a hardline stance on the Catalan independence crisis, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Madrid's legal response to the secession threat.

"Spanish democratic parties should not be able to include illegal goals in their statutes," Casado said in reference to the Catalan pro-independence parties on July 11, according to Catalan News Agency.

"Dialogue doesn't work with those who want to break the law," he said earlier this week.

Casado is also against decriminalising euthanasia as promoted by the current Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporation taxes.

He will have to breathe life into a party which lost three million voters between the 2011 general elections, when Rajoy won an absolute majority, and the last polls in 2016.

"You can not aspire to lead a party if you are not proud of its past," Casado said.

"I am proud of Jose Maria Aznar, Mariano Rajoy and Manuel Fraga," he said in his speech before the delegates, after defending conservative policies on "life and family".

"The PP has returned," he said later, when he took the stage as the winner. "I want us to return to our town and cities and reconnect with the people ... The PP will again try to win back the hearts of all Spaniards," he added.

Signalling likely tensions ahead over fiscal issues, Casado criticised plans by the Socialists to raise taxes, saying he would push for lower income and corporate taxes to increase competitiveness.

The 2019 budget plan, which includes the largest rise in the spending ceiling since 2014 and increases in budget deficit targets, is expected to be submitted to parliament next week.

Casado has also pledged to strengthen the country's role at the heart of Europe, adding: "If there is isolationism, if there is protectionism, Spain must again return be a central part of the European Union."

Translation: We are not going to spend more time talking about us, we are willing to lead this society and we will do it together. Spain needs us more than ever.

In May, a court announced it had sentenced former PP officials, businessmen and their spouses to a total of 351 years in jail for their role in a vast bribery scheme known as the Gurtel case.

It proved to be one corruption scandal too many for the PP, which has been hit by a series of graft accusations.

A week later, Rajoy - who oversaw the country's economic recovery though unemployment remained stubbornly high during his tenure - was gone, with Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez becoming prime minister.

Santamaria, 47, who served for six years as Rajoy's deputy, emphasised her experience ahead of the vote, painting herself as the only candidate with sufficient gravitas to defeat Sanchez in 2020 elections.

The PP, which still holds the most seats in parliament even if it lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019.</s>MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s conservatives took a swing to the right on Saturday, less than two months after being ousted from office, as they elected a traditionalist to succeed former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as leader.

Pablo Casado beat Soraya Saenz de Santamaria - who served as Rajoy’s deputy during his six-plus years in office - by 1,701 votes to 1,250 in a ballot of lawmakers and other senior members of the People’s Party (PP).

Calling for unity after a leadership race that exposed divisions within the party, Casado told members in his acceptance speech: “The PP is back. We can’t waste another minute speaking about ourselves. We must start talking about Spain again.”

A lawmaker from the northern Spanish city of Palencia, Casado has been a member of the PP since 2003. He opposes abortion and has called for the party to return to ‘traditional’ conservative values of “life and family.”

Rajoy’s ouster via no-confidence vote brought the Socialists into office, and one of the first decisions Casado will face is the extent to which the PP should give parliamentary support to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government.

Signaling likely tensions ahead over fiscal issues, Casado criticized plans by the Socialists to raise taxes, saying he would push for lower income and corporate taxes to increase competitiveness.

The 2019 budget plan, which includes the largest rise in the spending ceiling since 2014 and increases in budget deficit targets, is expected to be submitted to parliament next week.

But he pledged to strengthen the country’s role at the heart of Europe, adding: “If there is isolationism, if there is protectionism, Spain must again return be a central part of the European Union.”

Casado’s opponent Saenz de Santamaria was considered a more moderate voice in the PP, representing a continuation of Rajoy’s policies.

Weakened by a slew of corruption scandals and a sovereignty crisis in the northeastern region of Catalonia, the party has lost support in recent years to new market-friendly party Ciudadanos.

The PP currently holds the most seats in the 350-seat parliament, with 134, while the Socialists hold just 84 seats and had to agree pacts with smaller parties to raise a parliamentary majority for the no-confidence motion against Rajoy.</s>Spain's Popular Party (PP) on Saturday picked arch-conservative Pablo Casado to replace ousted prime minister Mariano Rajoy as leader, in a move seen as a lurch to the right.

The 37-year-old lawmaker inherits the helm of a party dogged by corruption allegations and that has seen its poll numbers plunge in recent years.

"A new era begins today," Casado told party members after the vote in Madrid. "We're going to try to reconquer the hearts of all Spaniards after the difficult weeks we've experienced."

The appointment of Casado, a known conservative who has promised "hope" with a generational revamp of the party, will be seen as a lurch to the right for the party.

He has taken a hardline stance on the Catalan independence crisis, calling for the addition of offences such as illegally calling a referendum to the criminal code to boost Spain's legal response to the secession threat.

"Dialogue doesn't work with those who want to break the law," he said this week.

Casado is also against decriminalising euthanasia as promoted by the Socialist government and wants to lower income and corporation taxes.

He will have to breathe life into a party which lost three million voters between the 2011 general elections, when Rajoy won an absolute majority, and the last polls in 2016.

Many have migrated to Ciudadanos, a centre-right party, angry over the series of corruption scandals that hit the PP in recent years.

Casado beat Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who served as Rajoy's deputy, to become head of Spain's conservatives.

Rajoy's ousting in a no-confidence vote in June was partly seen as a censure for his handling of the Catalan independence crisis, and a perception that he was weak on rooting out graft.

After an acrimonious campaign that saw mystery videos released attacking both candidates, 3,082 delegates cast their ballot for the successor of Rajoy, who spoke for the last time as PP leader on Friday.

In a long, emotional speech, the 63-year-old who had bean a major figure of Spanish politics over the past 14 years asked PP members to "be responsible in carrying out your duties".

Rajoy, who has long been one of Spain's great political survivors -- he even walked away from a 2005 helicopter crash with just a broken finger -- oversaw the country's economic recovery, though unemployment has remained stubbornly high during his tenure.

In May, a court announced it had sentenced former PP officials, businessmen and their spouses to a total of 351 years in jail for their role in a vast bribery scheme known as the Gurtel case.

It proved to be one corruption scandal too many for the PP, which has been hit by a series of graft accusations, and Rajoy was gone a week later.

"We're an honest party, there's no room here for a single corrupt individual," Casado said after his election.

Santamaria, 47, emphasised her experience ahead of the vote, painting herself as the only candidate with sufficient gravitas to defeat current Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in 2020 elections.

The PP, which still holds the most seats in parliament even if it lost its absolute majority, will have to rapidly prepare for municipal, regional and European elections in May 2019.</s>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012.</s>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012.</s>BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rising conservative politician Pablo Casado has been elected as new leader of Spain's Popular Party in a landslide victory, ending a bitter and divisive election.

The 37-year-old lawyer beat his opponent, former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, with 1701 votes against 1250 on Saturday.

Casado succeeds former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stepped down last month after losing a parliamentary vote to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of the PP.

"We must return to the center of Spanish society to make sure our work is not undone," Casado said in his victory speech. He also promised to defend the values of "life and family."

Casado was chief of staff to then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 2009 to 2012.
Pablo Casado is elected leader of Spain's centre-right People's Party after defeating former Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría in a run-off.