MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no confidence over a graft case involving members of his People’s Party (PP) in which a High Court judge also questioned the credibility of his testimony as a witness last year.

It is not yet clear whether the opposition Socialists could secure enough backing to topple the conservative Rajoy, as they would need the support of upstart parties Podemos and Ciudadanos.

The case, which relates to the use of a slush fund by the Conservatives in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns, has plagued Rajoy since he came to power in 2011. He has always denied wrongdoing.

Rajoy, became the first sitting prime minister in Spain to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness in the case last year, prompting calls for him to resign.

Twenty-nine people related to the PP, including a former treasurer and other senior members, were convicted on Thursday of offences including falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes. They were sentenced to a combined 351 years behind bars.

In his ruling, the judge said there was evidence the party ran a slush fund for many years and that the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony denying it “should be questioned”.

“(His) testimony does not appear as plausible enough to refute the strong evidence showing the existence of a slush fund in the party,” the judge said.</s>Spain's Socialist opposition is challenging Mariano Rajoy's government by filing for a vote of no confidence after judges ruled that the governing Popular Party profited from a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme.

A party spokeswoman who wasn't authorized to be named in media reports confirmed the decision on Friday, one day after the National Court convicted 29 businesspeople and PP officials for fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, among other crimes.

The judges issued prison sentences totaling 351 years and fined the conservative PP 245,000 euros (US$ 287,000).

The Socialists' challenge will push the pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party, which has until now supported the prime minister's minority government in parliament, to make a decision whether to back the vote. The anti-establishment Podemos party has already said it will vote to sack Rajoy.</s>MADRID -- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no confidence after courts ruled that the governing Popular Party profited from a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme, the Socialist opposition announced Friday.

A spokeswoman said the PSOE party had filed for the vote in parliament one day after the country's National Court convicted 29 businesspeople and former PP officials for fraud, tax evasion and money laundering among other crimes.

The challenge puts Rajoy's future on the ropes, but Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will need to convince other opposition parties to back his 84 votes in the 350-seat national congress in order to sack the conservatives from the government.

The anti-establishment Podemos party, with 67 seats, has already announced that it would vote to sack Rajoy. But with its challenge, PSOE is also pushing the pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party to decide whether to back or not the vote, which needs at least 175 votes to succeed.

Ciudadanos has until now supported the prime minister's minority government in parliament, but the criticism of its leader Albert Rivera has increased in step with his party's newfound popularity in recent polls.

Friday's move comes after a roller-coaster ride this week for Rajoy's PP, whose win on Wednesday of a key approval for the 2018 national budget had secured, in theory, enough breathing space for him to survive until the end of the term, in 2020.

But the setback came less than 24 hours later in the form of a 1,687-page ruling on the so-called Gurtel case, considered one of the gravest corruption episodes in Spain's modern history.

The judges issued prison sentences totalling 351 years and a 245,000-euro fine (US$ 287,000) for the conservative party in power, which the ruling describes as a "profit-seeking participant" in the scheme.

The verdict also considered that a network involving companies and party officials was established to arrange travel and organize events for PP in exchange for public contracts.

In some of the most damaging parts of the ruling, the judges also said that PP ran a slush fund at least until 2008 and questioned the credibility of Rajoy when he denied knowing that the scheme was in place during a court hearing where the prime minister testified as a witness.

The convictions immediately triggered turmoil for the embattled government of the 63-year-old prime minister, who is combating separatist defiance in Catalonia and has for years defended his party against dozens of corruption allegations.

The ruling party has said it will appeal the part of the verdict that found it was a profit-seeking participant in the scheme. Rajoy has not made public comments since the court decision but the prime minister's office said in a statement on Thursday that nobody in the current administration or in the party's leadership was aware of any illicit practice.</s>MADRID, May 25 (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no confidence over a graft case involving members of his People's Party (PP) in which a High Court judge also questioned the credibility of his testimony as a witness last year.

It is not yet clear whether the opposition Socialists could secure enough backing to topple the conservative Rajoy, as they would need the support of upstart parties Podemos and Ciudadanos.

The case, which relates to the use of a slush fund by the Conservatives in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns, has plagued Rajoy since he came to power in 2011. He has always denied wrongdoing.

Rajoy, became the first sitting prime minister in Spain to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness in the case last year, prompting calls for him to resign.

Twenty-nine people related to the PP, including a former treasurer and other senior members, were convicted on Thursday of offences including falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes. They were sentenced to a combined 351 years behind bars.

In his ruling, the judge said there was evidence the party ran a slush fund for many years and that the credibility of Rajoy's testimony denying it "should be questioned".

"(His) testimony does not appear as plausible enough to refute the strong evidence showing the existence of a slush fund in the party," the judge said. (Reporting by Julien Toyer and Raquel Castillo Editing by Peter Graff)</s>MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no confidence over a graft case involving members of his People’s Party (PP) in which a High Court judge also questioned the credibility of his testimony as a witness last year.

It is not yet clear whether the opposition Socialists could secure enough backing to topple the conservative Rajoy, as they would need the support of upstart parties Podemos and Ciudadanos.

The case, which relates to the use of a slush fund by the Conservatives in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns, has plagued Rajoy since he came to power in 2011. He has always denied wrongdoing.

Rajoy, became the first sitting prime minister in Spain to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness in the case last year, prompting calls for him to resign.

Twenty-nine people related to the PP, including a former treasurer and other senior members, were convicted on Thursday of offences including falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes. They were sentenced to a combined 351 years behind bars.

In his ruling, the judge said there was evidence the party ran a slush fund for many years and that the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony denying it “should be questioned”.

“(His) testimony does not appear as plausible enough to refute the strong evidence showing the existence of a slush fund in the party,” the judge said.</s>Spain's socialist party on Friday said it would put forward a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy over a graft case involving members of his People's Party.

MADRID: Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was threatened with two separate no-confidence motions on Friday, after a graft trial involving members of his party in which a judge questioned the credibility of his testimony.

The opposition Socialists presented their motion to parliament, while the centre-right Ciudadanos - Rajoy's former ally - issued him with an ultimatum.

"If Rajoy does not call snap elections we would be ready to put forward (our own) motion of no confidence in order to hold elections," Jose Manuel Villegas, a senior member of Ciudadanos, told a news conference.

Twenty-nine people related to Rajoy's People's Party (PP), including a former treasurer and other senior members, were convicted on Thursday of offences including falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes. They were sentenced to a combined 351 years behind bars.

The case, which relates to the use of a slush fund by the Conservatives in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns, has plagued Rajoy since he came to power in 2011. He has always denied wrongdoing.

Rajoy became the first sitting prime minister in Spain to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness in the case last year, prompting calls for him to resign.

In his ruling, the judge said there was evidence the party ran a slush fund for many years and that the credibility of Rajoy's testimony denying it "should be questioned".

"(His) testimony does not appear as plausible enough to refute the strong evidence showing the existence of a slush fund in the party," the judge said.

Rajoy was already under fire for his handling of the secession crisis in Catalonia, with many voters turning away from the PP to Ciudadanos.

Hours before the court ruling was made public on Thursday, Rajoy suggested he would run for a third term in an election due by mid-2020, but political observers said he was now likely to face an internal challenge in his party.

Ciudadanos helped the PP pass this year's budget bill as recently as Wednesday.

"It is clear that yesterday's ruling marks a tipping point in our relationship with the governing party," Villegas told COPE radio on Friday.

"The ruling is serious enough for us to sit down, reflect and take decisions."</s>Spain’s Socialist opposition is challenging Mariano Rajoy’s government by filing for a vote of no confidence after judges ruled that the governing Popular Party profited from a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme.

A party spokeswoman who wasn’t authorized to be named in media reports confirmed the decision on Friday, one day after the National Court convicted 29 businesspeople and PP officials for fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, among other crimes.

The judges issued prison sentences totaling 351 years and fined the conservative PP 245,000 euros (US$ 287,000).

The Socialists’ challenge will push the pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party, which has until now supported the prime minister’s minority government in parliament, to make a decision whether to back the vote. The anti-establishment Podemos party has already said it will vote to sack Rajoy.</s>MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no confidence after courts ruled that the governing Popular Party profited from a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme, the Socialist opposition announced Friday.

 A spokeswoman said the PSOE party had filed for the vote in parliament one day after the country’s National Court convicted 29 businesspeople and former PP officials for fraud, tax evasion and money laundering among other crimes.

 The challenge puts Rajoy’s future on the ropes, but Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez will need to convince other opposition parties to back his 84 votes in the 350-seat national congress in order to sack the conservatives from the government.

 The anti-establishment Podemos party, with 67 seats, has already announced that it would vote to sack Rajoy. But with its challenge, PSOE is also pushing the pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party to decide whether to back or not the vote, which needs at least 175 votes to succeed.

 Ciudadanos has until now supported the prime minister’s minority government in parliament, but the criticism of its leader Albert Rivera has increased in step with his party’s newfound popularity in recent polls.

 Friday’s move comes after a roller-coaster ride this week for Rajoy’s PP, whose win on Wednesday of a key approval for the 2018 national budget had secured, in theory, enough breathing space for him to survive until the end of the term, in 2020.

 But the setback came less than 24 hours later in the form of a 1,687-page ruling on the so-called Gurtel case, considered one of the gravest corruption episodes in Spain’s modern history.

 The judges issued prison sentences totaling 351 years and a 245,000-euro fine (US$ 287,000) for the conservative party in power, which the ruling describes as a “profit-seeking participant” in the scheme.

 The verdict also considered that a network involving companies and party officials was established to arrange travel and organize events for PP in exchange for public contracts.

 In some of the most damaging parts of the ruling, the judges also said that PP ran a slush fund at least until 2008 and questioned the credibility of Rajoy when he denied knowing that the scheme was in place during a court hearing where the prime minister testified as a witness.

 The convictions immediately triggered turmoil for the embattled government of the 63-year-old prime minister, who is combating separatist defiance in Catalonia and has for years defended his party against dozens of corruption allegations.

 The ruling party has said it will appeal the part of the verdict that found it was a profit-seeking participant in the scheme. Rajoy has not made public comments since the court decision but the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday that nobody in the current administration or in the party’s leadership was aware of any illicit practice.</s>'Spain’s biggest opposition party, the Socialists, filed a no-confidence motion on Friday against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy after his conservative Popular Party was found guilty of benefiting from illegal funds in a mega graft trial.

The motion was filed in Spain's 350-seat lower house of parliament, a Socialist party spokesman told AFP just as Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez began an emergency meeting of the party's federal committee to discuss the parliamentary vote seeking Rajoy's ouster.

To succeed, it will need the support of an absolute majority of 176 lawmakers, a difficult task as opposition parties are deeply divided.

While far-left party Podemos has already called for a no-confidence vote, the motion will need the unlikely support of centrist party Ciudadanos, Rajoy's allies in parliament, or that of several tiny regional parties, including Catalan separatist parties.

Sanchez has in recent months clashed with the Catalan separatist parties over their independence push which has violated Spain's constitution.

In Spain's deeply fragmented parliament, the Socialists and Podemos do not have the votes on their own to defeat Rajoy, whose Popular Party (PP) lost its absolute majority in parlaiment over two years ago.

Spain's National Court said Thursday it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former Popular Party (PP) officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005 in various regions including Madrid.

The court sentenced 29 people in jail for a total of 351 years for corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the so-called Gurtel trial, named after the code name of the police investigation.

The PP itself was not on trial for direct involvement in the scheme but was found to have benefited from funds obtained illegally.

It is the first time that a ruling party in Spain has been found guilty in court, and the PP was ordered to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000).

"Devastating sentence," headlined Catalan daily newspaper El Periodico on Friday while top-selling daily El Pais said in an editorial that "there is no precedent in democratic Spain for such a blow".

The court ruling "badly affects the credibility of a party that has ruled this country between 1996 and 2004 and again from 2011."

The case was just one of many graft scandals to have hit the PP over the years, in a country where corruption cases are widespread.

The graft scandals have taken their toll on the PP.

The party has 24 percent support according to a poll by Sociological Research Center (CIS) published earlier this month, down from 33 percent at the last genral election in June 2016, giving it just a slim lead over Ciudadanos in first place.</s>Pedro Sánchez ha anunciado esta mañana en la sede del PSOE que no renunciará a ser presidente de Gobierno con los votos de ninguno de los 350 diputados del Congreso, incluidos los 17 diputados independentistas catalanes. "Me dirijo a los 350 diputados para que todos saquemos a España del lodazal de la corrupción en la que la ha metido el presidente del Gobierno y el PP", ha asegurado.

Su objetivo será presidir un Gobierno del PSOE que se marcará como objetivo "convocar elecciones cuanto antes". Eso sí, Sánchez ha dejado en el aire el plazo para esa convocatoria electoral. Antes de ello, ha dicho que espera poder "recuperar la normalidad política e institucional y atender a las urgencias sociales de muchísimos ciudadanos", sin especificar plazos.

El líder del PSOE ha recordado que Ana Pastor fue elegida presidenta del Congreso con el voto favorable de algunos diputados independentistas [del PDeCAT]. Y ha enfatizado que su Gobierno "defenderá y hará defender la Constitución, la soberanía nacional, la integridad territorial y la igualdad de los españoles".

El secretario general socialista ha comparecido a las 12:30 horas en la sede del PSOE después de que la Ejecutiva Federal haya respaldado de forma unánime la moción de censura contra Rajoy presentada esta mañana.

De momento, la moción cuenta con 156 votos: los 84 del PSOE, 67 de Unidos Podemos, los cuatro de Compromís y uno de Nueva Canarias. Todas estas formaciones han anunciado su apoyo a la investidura de Sánchez para echar a Rajoy. Ciudadanos ha dicho ya que no la apoyará y aún es una incógnita la postura del PDeCAT y ERC tras la dureza de Sánchez contra el presidentQuim Torra, al que ha calificado como "racista", "xenófobo" y "supremacista" en numerosas ocasiones.

El PSOE convocará hoy mismo un Comité Federal para el lunes para informar a todo el partido de la decisión tomada por la Ejecutiva. Hasta este momento, Sánchez no ha hablado aún con la presidenta de la Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, ni con el resto de presidentes autonómicos, que siempre rechazaron la posibilidad de que fuera investido con el voto de los diputados del PDeCAT o de ERC.

Sánchez no ha querido ni siquiera esperar a que la Ejecutiva Federal dé su opinión en la reunión que ha mantenido esta mañana en Ferraz. Tras hablar durante casi todo el día de ayer con la gran mayoría de los 49 integrantes de la dirección y después de escuchar a numerosos dirigentes del partido, el secretario general del PSOE ha dado esta misma mañana la orden de registrar en el Congreso de los Diputados la moción de censura para que este mecanismo constitucional se active en los próximos días.

Uno de los principales objetivos de la moción es que Ciudadanos se retrate. El PSOE quiere que Albert Rivera deje bien claro cuál es su opción: si prefiere sostener a un PP "podrido por la corrupción", como hizo tras el caso Cifuentes en Madrid o si Rivera opta por un "Gobierno del cambio" encabezado por Sánchez, como explican fuentes socialistas.

Durante todo el día de ayer, el secretario general del PSOE estuvo hablando con distintos dirigentes y miembros de la Ejecutiva socialista. La mayoría de ellos apostaron por la moción como algo "inevitable" dada la gravedad de los hechos probados en la sentencia.

"Decisiones tajantes"

Desde que el jueves se conociera la primera sentencia sobre el caso Gürtel, la opción de la moción de censura fue cobrando cada vez más fuerza en Ferraz. La gravedad de los hechos probados, y que el PP haya sido condenado, son entendidos como determinantes para "adoptar decisiones tajantes", según fuentes de la dirección.

La respuesta que el PP y el Gobierno dieron el jueves a la sentencia condenatoria fue considerada "inaceptable" por el PSOE, ya que el fallo "implica políticamente al presidente del Gobierno y del PP", según fuentes oficiales.

Fuentes socialistas explican que Sánchez ha tenido dos condicionantes importantes que han hecho que se incline a presentar la moción. El primero es que hace semanas él mismo anunció una moción contra Cristina Cifuentes en Madrid por su currículo falseado. Y en este caso una sentencia condenatoria se considera de una gravedad muchísimo mayor. El segundo es que las bases y plataformas que le eligieron secretario general hace un año son en su mayoría partidarias de presentarla.

Por último, la mayoría de los dirigentes socialistas más próximos a Sánchez se mostraron ayer partidarios de presentar la moción, según las fuentes consultadas. Hasta ahora la tesis mayoritaria en Ferraz era que Sánchez no podía ser investido gracias al voto de los partidos independentistas catalanes en plena ofensiva secesionista, para no ser su «rehén».

Por eso, los socialistas intentarán poner toda la presión sobre Ciudadanos para que termine apoyando la investidura de Pedro Sánchez, como ya hizo en 2016, en la investidura en la que Pablo Iglesias rechazó al candidato socialista e hizo posible que Rajoy siguiera siendo presidente del Gobierno.

El Congreso la admitirá a trámite

En los próximos días, la Mesa del Congreso admitirá a trámite la moción registrada hoy y dará cuenta de la misma al presidente del Gobierno y a todos los portavoces de los grupos parlamentarios. En los dos días siguientes a su presentación, los grupos podrán presentar mociones alternativas, que deben estar propuestas, al menos, por la décima parte de los diputados del Congreso, es decir, 35.

La fecha del debate lo fijará la presidenta del Congreso, Ana Pastor, de acuerdo con Pedro Sánchez. El candidato necesitará la mayoría absoluta de los votos de la Cámara para ser investido presidente.

El PNV, dispuesto a "hablar" El portavoz del PNV en el Congreso de los Diputados, Aitor Esteban, ha mostrado la disposición de su formación a "hablar" con el PSOE de la moción de censura para conocer cuál es su "planteamiento respecto a Euskadi y sus aspiraciones" y sobre Cataluña, aunque ha reconocido que en este momento hay "demasiadas incógnitas".



El PNV vuelve a ver multiplicado su protagonismo político en Madrid tras el paso dado por Sánchez y en la primera reacción de sus portavoces no ha descartado ninguna opción.



De hecho, el PNV ha querido destacar la disposición a "hablar" con Sánchez para conocer cuál es su planteamiento y "si tiene soluciones para la crisis a la que se enfrenta el Estado español".

Tres mociones fallidas en la Historia de España La de Pedro Sánchez será la cuarta moción de la democracia en España. Las anteriores fueron la de Felipe González (1980), la de Antonio Hernández Mancha (1987) y, la más reciente, la de Pablo Iglesias (2017). Todas fueron fallidas, aunque con un resultado dispar: la de González relanzó su figura política, mientras que la de Hernández Mancha hundió su carrera. La moción de González contra Adolfo Suárez contó con el apoyó de 152 diputados, el rechazo de 166 (de UCD) y la abstención de 21 parlamentarios. Es decir, González se quedó a 24 votos de ganarla. Hernández Mancha quedó más lejos: sólo contó con 67 votos a favor y 195 en contra. El último en liza, Pablo Iglesias, vio rechazada su apuesta por 170 votos en contra, 97 abstenciones y sólo 82 votos a favor.
The opposition Socialist Workers' Party presents a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy following the publication of the sentence in the Gürtel corruption scandal, which involved the ruling PP.