
• The Spanish parliament has forced Mariano Rajoy out of office in a vote of no confidence.
• Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the opposition party, is now the Prime Minister.
• Rajoy’s no-confidence vote came after a court convicted his former aides of running a slush fund for his party’s campaign.
• Rajoy admitted defeat earlier in the day before voting started.

Mariano Rajoy has been ousted as Spain’s prime minister after a parliamentary no-confidence vote forced him out of office.

Out of 350 members of parliament, 180 lawmakers voted in favour of Rajoy’s ouster, 169 voted against, and one abstained.

Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the opposition Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), is now Spanish Prime Minister. He tweeted on Thursday, ahead of the vote: “I propose a socialist, joint and European government that will comply with the EU and the [Spanish] Constitution.”

Sanchez filed a motion for the vote of no confidence after a court convicted Rajoy’s former aides of running slush funds to help finance election campaigns for his Popular Party. Rajoy has long denied any knowledge of the funds, and said he had not taken any illicit payments.

Rajoy, became prime minister in 2011, admitted defeat before the Spanish parliament began the no-confidence vote on Friday. He told the Spanish parliament:

“It has been an honour to be the president of the Government of Spain, it has been an honour to leave Spain better than what I found. I wish my substitute could say the same when he comes. I wish it for the good of Spain.

“I think I have fulfilled the mandate of the seat, to serve the life of the people. If anyone has felt injured in this House or beyond, I apologise. Thank you all, especially to my party.

Six opposition parties of the parliament’s lower house said on Thursday that they would reject him in the vote.

Rajoy did not attend Thursday’s parliamentary session and was found hiding out with a handful of close advisers in an upscale restaurant for about eight hours.

His removal from Spain’s premiership triggers the second major political crisis in Europe in a week, as Italy finally cobbled together a coalition after a populist election almost brought the country to the brink of chaos.</s>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is poised to be ousted from office after a Basque party on Thursday gave its decisive support to a no-confidence motion over a corruption case, making it all but certain to succeed.

Bar any last minute u-turns, this will be the first time since Spain transitioned back to democracy after the 1975 death of Francisco Franco that a prime minister is toppled by a vote of no-confidence.

In parliament, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) said its five lawmakers would vote against Rajoy, who was conspicuously absent from the lower house, with just a bag placed on his seat, after earlier launching a staunch defence against the motion scheduled for Friday.

This gives the main opposition Socialist party, which filed the motion, the absolute majority of 176 votes needed for it to pass.

It will also put paid to the 63-year-old’s rollercoaster time as prime minister that saw him come to power in 2011 and implement drastic spending cuts before winning elections again in 2015 and 2016, though without the absolute majority he had in his first term.

He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.

His term in office was also marked by a series of corruption scandals involving former members of his Popular Party (PP).

That prompted the no-confidence motion, which was filed last week after a court said it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005.

The National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to jail. It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.

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

In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony “should be questioned”.

Earlier on Thursday, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez demanded Rajoy step down, arguing he had lost credibility after the court ruling, though the PP’s number two Maria Dolores de Cospedal later ruled out his resignation before the vote.

“Your isolation, Mr. Rajoy, is the epitaph of a political period, yours, which is over,” the 46-year-old former economics professor said in parliament.

In a bid to secure the PNV’s support, Sanchez vowed to stick to Rajoy’s 2018 budget, which included concessions to the Basque Country and an increase in pensions demanded by the tiny party.

The PNV, which governs the northern Basque Country with the Socialists, gave Rajoy the crucial backing he needed to pass the budget earlier this month.

The Socialists, who hold 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, also have the support of anti-establishment party Podemos and a string of regional parties, including two Catalan separatist groupings.

“The party is over,” said Joan Baldovi, a representative of tiny regional party Compromis, an ally of Podemos.

Sanchez has pledged to call a fresh election if the motion succeeds but only after governing long enough to restore “institutional stability”.

Bar any change, Rajoy will become the first Spanish premier to lose a no-confidence vote.

There have been three other such votes since Spain returned to democracy following the death of long-time dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, including one against Rajoy last year.

During Thursday’s debate, Rajoy said the corruption case “does not concern members of the government” and repeated the PP’s argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.

“The PP has had corrupt people, I acknowledge it but the PP is not a corrupt party,” he said, before accusing Sanchez of “opportunism at the service of personal ambition”.

Rajoy also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years.</s>After a bitter two-day debate in parliament, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday lost a no-confidence vote and was ousted from office. He will be replaced by a leader of the opposition Socialist Party.

The vote was 180 to 169, with one abstention.

Rajoy appeared in parliament Friday morning and in a brief speech said, “I will accept the decision.”

He added: “It has been an honor to be the leader of Spain and to leave it in a better state than the one I found. I believe I have satisfied my responsibility, which is to improve the lives of Spaniards. If I have offended someone in my role, I ask forgiveness.”

After navigating 25 percent youth unemployment, a territorial showdown with the restive Catalan region and a financial crisis that threatened the solvency of the euro, Rajoy was brought down by the corruption scandals that have plagued his Popular Party.

Spain’s National Court handed down tough sentences last week to 29 individuals linked with the party, including elected officials and business leaders.

The court ruled that the Popular Party benefited from wide-ranging, systematic use of kickbacks from contracts. The crimes ranged from fraud and tax evasion to money laundering.

Rajoy had testified that there were no such slush funds.

The crisis in Spain comes as populist, anti-immigrant and euro-skeptical parties in Italy struggle to cobble together a government and Britain faces a decisive round of negotiations later this month to leave the European Union.

After six years in office, Rajoy is set to be replaced by the opposition Socialist Party and its leader, Pedro Sánchez.

Pending publication of the no-confidence vote in the national bulletin and the formality of the king’s invitation to form a government, Sánchez could be sworn in over the weekend.

Sánchez has promised to abide by the 2018 budget negotiated by Rajoy, and most observers do not forecast any abrupt or radical change in governing.

The Sánchez government is likely to be a weak one, supported by two pro-independence Catalan parties, a Basque party and the populist Podemos party.

Rajoy earlier charged that Sánchez and the Socialists could not win at the polls and so sought the no-confidence vote to seize power.

“Everybody knows that Pedro Sánchez is never going to win elections, and this is the reason for his motion and this urgency,” Rajoy said last week.

This view was echoed by a leader of Rajoy’s Popular Party in the parliament, Rafael Hernando, who charged that it was all politics.

The “no-confidence” motion is brought forward by the “reckless left that doesn’t accept its defeat at the polls,” he said.

Hernando reminded parliament of the successes of the outgoing government. “Thanks to the effort and the solidarity of all Spaniards, Mariano Rajoy’s government avoided the bailout and steered us through the crisis.” Rajoy won European Union support — and European money — for a “bailout lite” of Spanish banks in 2012, which stabilized the economy and helped bolster the eurozone as countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal were skidding into the ditch.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Margarita Robles, told parliament Friday that the party was ready to handle this difficult moment in a responsible fashion.

“The facts proved in the sentence show that the president didn’t tell the truth,” she said. “It’s enough of covering up corruption. We are going to start a new stage.”

The no-confidence motion — which needed 176 of 350 votes to pass — made strange bedfellows of 22 widely divergent parliamentary groups, including anti-establishment left-wing national parties, the political arm of the now-defunct armed Basque separatist group ETA, and regional Catalan nationalist parties hankering to negotiate an independent Catalan republic.

But the most notable party among those cobbled together to support the no-confidence vote was the right-leaning regional Basque party PNV, which just last week secured a coveted fiscal package as a prerequisite for casting the deciding votes to approve the 2018 general budget. PNV’s decision Thursday to support Sánchez’s motion to oust Rajoy sent Spain into a frenzy, as pundits and politicians realized the government was doomed to collapse.

A successful no-confidence vote was unprecedented in Spain, where three previous attempts had failed to secure the necessary absolute majority.

Sánchez is an unlikely prime minister. He is responsible for losing two general elections for his party in 2012 and 2016, and for securing the smallest parliamentary representation the historic party has ever held in Spain’s democracy. Though he is nicknamed “Mr. Handsome,” Sánchez heads a parliamentary bloc of only 84 in the 350-seat parliament.

The vote was brought forward after the National Court handed down severe sentences last week against 29 business people and Popular Party members, including some elected officials, for money laundering, tax evasion, fraud and other crimes. The Popular Party was fined $287,000, and Rajoy’s credibility was damaged. The prime minister had testified he was unaware of the corruption in his party.

On Thursday, Rajoy accused Sánchez of an opportunistic power grab and called the coalition of votes in favor of his motion a “Frankenstein government,” as opposed to what others have called Rajoy’s powerless administration: a “zombie government.”

The main party withholding its support from the no-confidence vote was the business-friendly Ciudadanos, led by Albert Rivera — who presently leads polls as the most popular political leader. Rivera scolded Sánchez for capitalizing on the situation and not immediately calling elections.

He also warned of dangerous alliances with political groups that openly challenge the Spanish Constitution and question territorial unity.

“I don’t want a corruption-plagued zombie government but neither a Frankenstein government with those who want to break Spain apart,” Rivera said.



For his part, Sánchez pledged to recover stability for the country and its institutions, address urgent issues and then call general elections. More specifically, he said he would maintain the general budget approved last week — leading to chatter about how that helped seal the crucial PNV votes. He also said he would reactivate social services and infuse new life into pensions.

But most importantly, he opened the door for dialogue with Catalonia’s independence-minded parties. Both of the regional parties that form the Catalan government and have representation in the national parliament welcomed Sánchez’s statements about seeking a political solution to the Catalan crisis, a months-long stalemate between the Spanish government and the disobedient, rebellious regional administration.

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Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news</s>Spain's prime minister has been forced out of his job, losing a no-confidence vote triggered by a corruption scandal.

Right-winger Mariano Rajoy was dramatically toppled today and replaced by socialist Pedro Sanchez.

Rajoy was forced out after seven years in power following a wave of financial scandals involving his Popular Party.

He announced his departure ahead of a vote of confidence in the Spanish Parliament.

The motion, called by Sanchez, won 180 votes for, 169 against and 1 abstention.

Sanchez is expected to take office by Monday and his cabinet appointed next week.

He suggested on Thursday he would try to govern until the scheduled end of the parliamentary term in mid-2020.

But it is unclear how long his administration, with only 84 Socialist deputies in the 350-member legislative assembly, can last.

He has already committed to respecting a budget passed by Rajoy, and the fragmented parliament means Sanchez will find it hard to row back on structural reforms passed by his predecessor, including new labour laws and cuts in healthcare and education.

Leftist Podemos, which will offer parliamentary support to Sanchez's government, is unlikely to gain big influence over the new Prime Minister, who is keen to differentiate his Socialist party from its anti-austerity ally and win back centrist voters.

Rajoy had conceded defeat prior to the no-confidence vote, earlier telling deputies: "Mr Sanchez will be the head of the government and let me be the first to congratulate him."

Jeremy Corbyn faces further pressure from Labour MPs and leftwing activists to soften his stance on Brexit

Rajoy's position had become increasingly untenable, undermined by his status as head of a corruption-tinged minority government as well as a divisive independence drive in the wealthy region of Catalonia.

The Basque Nationalist Party, whose five seats were key to Sanchez securing enough parliamentary backing, withdrew support from Rajoy after dozens of people linked to his centre-right People's Party (PP) were sentenced to decades in jail in a corruption trial.

Two Catalan pro-independence parties as well as Podemos also backed Sanchez. Market-friendly Ciudadanos, leading in the national opinion polls, was the only major party that supported Rajoy.

Sanchez, who is expected to be sworn in by Monday and appoint his cabinet next week, has promised to start talks with the Catalans but said he will not give them an independence referendum.</s>Socialist Pedro Sanchez took over as Spain's prime minister, after outgoing leader Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary confidence vote. Picture: Reuters/Sergio Perez

Madrid - Socialist Pedro Sanchez took over as Spain's prime minister on Friday, after outgoing leader Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary confidence vote triggered by a long-running corruption trial involving members of his centre-right party.

Socialist party head Sanchez becomes Spain's seventh Prime Minister since its return to democracy in the late 1970s following the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

But Rajoy's departure after six years in office casts one of the European Union's top four economies into an uncertain political landscape, just as another - Italy - pulled back from early elections.

Sanchez won Friday's no-confidence motion with 180 votes in favour, 169 against and 1 abstention.

He suggested on Thursday he would try to govern until the scheduled end of the parliamentary term in mid-2020. But it is unclear how long his administration, with only 84 Socialist deputies in the 350-member legislative assembly, can last.

With most Spanish parties and Sanchez himself being pro-European, investors however see less broader political risk there than in Italy.

Anti-establishment parties in Rome revived coalition plans on Thursday, ending three months of turmoil by announcing a government that promises to increase spending, challenge European Union fiscal rules and crack down on immigration.

"We've had a rude awakening of European political risks this week... but the situation in Spain is very different from Italy," said Michael Metcalfe, head of global macro strategy, State Street Global Markets.

"The parties leading in the polls in Spain are centrists so we're not getting the proposals for fiscal extremes as we have in Italy."

Many observers said Sanchez was in any case unlikely to call any vote until after European, local and regional elections take place in May next year.

He has already committed to respecting a budget passed by Rajoy, and the fragmented parliament means Sanchez will find it hard to row back on structural reforms passed by his predecessor, including new labour laws and cuts in healthcare and education.

Leftist Podemos, which will offer parliamentary support to Sanchez's government, is also unlikely to gain big influence over the new Prime Minister, who is keen to differentiate his Socialist party from its anti-austerity ally and win back centrist voters.

Rajoy had conceded defeat prior to the no-confidence vote, earlier telling deputies: "Mr Sanchez will be the head of the government and let me be the first to congratulate him."

Rajoy's position had become increasingly untenable, undermined by his status as head of a corruption-tinged minority government as well as a divisive independence drive in the wealthy region of Catalonia.

The Basque Nationalist Party, whose five seats were key to Sanchez securing enough parliamentary backing, withdrew support from Rajoy after dozens of people linked to his centre-right People's Party (PP) were sentenced to decades in jail in a corruption trial.

Two Catalan pro-independence parties as well as Podemos also backed Sanchez. Market-friendly Ciudadanos, leading in the national opinion polls, was the only major party that supported Rajoy.

Sanchez, who is expected to be sworn in by Monday and appoint his cabinet next week, has promised to start talks with the Catalans but said he will not give them an independence referendum.</s>Spain’s parliament on Friday ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party’s corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over.

An absolute majority of 180 lawmakers voted for the motion to loud applause and shouts of “Yes we can,” converting Rajoy into the first prime minister to be ousted by such a vote since Spain transitioned to democracy in 1977.

The bespectacled 63-year-old leader got up and shook hands with Sanchez before leaving the lower house without a word.

Rajoy had already admitted defeat minutes before the vote, knowing that an absolute majority of lawmakers as diverse as Catalan separatists and Basque nationalists had pledged their support for the no-confidence motion.

“It’s been an honour — there is none bigger — to have been Spain’s prime minister,” he told parliament, with lawmakers from his conservative Popular Party (PP) giving him a standing ovation.

Sanchez, Spain’s 46-year-old opposition leader, had instigated the no-confidence motion last week after a court revealed details of a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999-2005.

After years of anger over the scandals tainting the PP, corruption finally got the better of the party and sealed Rajoy’s downfall.

“Today we are signing a new page in the history of democracy in our country,” Sanchez told parliament prior to the vote.

But PP lawmaker Rafael Hernando told him he would be entering the prime minister’s office “through the back door” after failing to win 2015 and 2016 general elections.

“For the first time we may get a prime minister who didn’t win elections,” he retorted.

In order to push through the no-confidence motion, the Socialists, who hold just 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, had to cosy up to parties they had previously clashed with, like Catalan separatists and the anti-establishment Podemos.

As such, even if he has pledged to govern long enough to restore “institutional stability” before calling early elections, Sanchez‘s new government will likely be highly unstable.

Podemos has already asked to be part of his new government.

Aitor Esteban of the Basque PNV nationalist party, whose support proved decisive for the motion’s success, on Thursday warned that such a minority government would be “weak and difficult, complicated.”

“This is going to be a constant bing, bang, boom.”

Although Rajoy survived a similar no-confidence vote last year, Friday’s ballot draws a line under his rollercoaster time in office which began in 2011 and saw him implementing drastic spending cuts before winning re-election in 2015 and 2016.

Despite winning the last two votes, he lacked the absolute majority of his first term.

He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.

But his term in office was also marred by a series of corruption scandals involving former PP members.

Last week the National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to a total of 351 years in jail.

It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.

Rajoy became Spain’s first sitting prime minister to give evidence at trial when he was called as a witness last year.

In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony “should be questioned”.

During Thursday’s pre-vote debate, Rajoy said the corruption case “does not concern members of the government” and repeated the party’s argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.

He also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years.

“Are you Mother Teresa of Calcutta? With what moral authority do you speak?” he told Sanchez.</s>Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been forced out in a no-confidence vote led by the country's opposition Socialist party.

The motion passed by a narrow margin in the 350-seat lower house of Spain's parliament after the Socialists were able to corral enough votes from other parties. The final vote was 180 in favor, 169 against and one abstention, El Pais reports.

Following the vote, Rajoy shook the hand of the leader of the Socialists, Pedro Sánchez, who is all-but-certain to become the next prime minister.

Sánchez received a standing ovation in parliament as members of his party chanted "yes, we can!"

The position of Rajoy, 63, became untenable after Spain's High Court found Luis Bárcenas, a former treasurer of the prime minister's People's Party, guilty of receiving bribes, money laundering and tax crimes. Bárcenas has been sentenced to 33 years in jail.

In a brief farewell ahead of the vote — the first successful no-confidence motion in Spain's four decades of democracy — Rajoy said "it has been a honor to leave Spain better than I found it."

"Thank you to all Spaniards and good luck," he said.

Nearly a year ago, Rajoy survived a similar confidence vote, according to El Pais.

Rajoy on Thursday refused to step down ahead of the vote, as Sánchez had urged.

"Why should I have to resign, if for now I still have the trust of the house, and the trust awarded to me at the ballot boxes? You're the one who should be resigning around here," said Rajoy, addressing Sánchez.

"Mr Sánchez said that if he gets into power he would stick to the 2018 budget negotiated by Mr Rajoy, so there will be no instant policy shifts. He says he wants to implement reforms in some areas, for example on salaries, pensions and gender equality. He has also said that he wants to re-establish a dialogue with the pro-independence government of Catalonia, which has broken down in recent years, possibly indicating a more accommodative approach to the ongoing constitutional crisis in the region. He has also said that he wants to re-establish a dialogue with the pro-independence government of Catalonia, which has broken down in recent years, possibly indicating a more accommodative approach to the ongoing constitutional crisis in the region."</s>Socialist party leader Pedro Sanchez is set to become the new prime minister of Spain after a no-confidence vote in parliament unseated Mariano Rajoy's conservative government.

Mr Sanchez, the leader of the largest opposition party, could be sworn in as early as Saturday, with Cabinet appointments taking place next week.

To prevent a power vacuum after a no-confidence motion, Spanish law makes the motion's author - in this case, Mr Sanchez - the country's new leader as soon as the king swears him in.

The end of Mr Rajoy's six-year reign as PM was the first removal of a serving leader by the parliament in Madrid in four decades of democracy.

Mr Rajoy shook hands with Mr Sanchez after the result was announced.

The reputation of Mr Rajoy's Popular Party was badly damaged by a court verdict last week which identified it as a beneficiary of a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme.

Mr Sanchez seized his opportunity and managed to muster enough support from smaller parties to send him to La Moncloa palace, the seat of government in Madrid.

The 46-year-old takes the helm of the 19-country eurozone's fourth-largest economy at a time when the European Union faces numerous challenges, including the UK's departure from the bloc and migrants continuing to enter the continent from North Africa.

Mr Sanchez and his party are staunch supporters of the EU and the continent's shared currency.

The Madrid stock exchange was up nearly 1.6% after Mr Sanchez won the vote, earning a standing ovation from his party's MPs.

Mr Sanchez, who will be Spain's seventh prime minister since the country's return to democracy in the late 1970s, arrives in power after a spectacular turnaround in his political fortunes.

He was ousted by his own party's heavyweights in 2016 over back-to-back losses in general elections, and after he tried to block Mr Rajoy's bid to form a government.

The former economics professor regained the Socialists' leadership last year.

The incoming prime minister has outlined that his priorities will be social issues before calling elections, though he has not indicated when there might be a vote.

He faces a tough time, however, catering to demands from small nationalist parties whose votes he captured in the no-confidence motion.

The support of leftist and nationalist parties for ousting Mr Rajoy will not necessarily lead to parliamentary backing for Mr Sanchez's government and could produce a political stalemate.

Meanwhile, Spain's centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens') party has vowed fierce opposition to Mr Sanchez, and called for an early general election.

Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera said the change of government "is not good news for Spain".

Referring to Mariano Rajoy's outgoing government, Mr Rivera told reporters that "we had to censure this government, but not in this way".

After Mr Sanchez won the support of Basque and Catalan nationalist parties during the parliamentary vote, Mr Rivera said his party would be "very attentive to the concessions" that are made.</s>Mariano Rajoy faced his last hours as Spanish prime minister Friday as he braced to lose a no-confidence vote and make way for his arch-rival Pedro Sanchez, leader of the opposition.

Bar any last-minute u-turn, an absolute majority of lawmakers as varied as Catalan separatists and Basque nationalists will vote the no-confidence motion filed last week by the Socialists over a string of corruption woes hitting Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP).

"Your isolation, Mr. Rajoy, is the epitaph of a political period, yours, which is over," Sanchez, a 46-year-old former economics professor, told parliament on Thursday during an intense day of sometimes acrimonious debate.

"Today we're finally sending the Popular Party home," Pablo Iglesias, leader of far-left anti-establishment party Podemos, added.

In order to secure the success of the no-confidence motion, the Socialists, who hold just 84 of the parliament's 350 seats, have had to cosy up to parties as varied as Catalan separatist groupings or Podemos.

Sanchez has pledged to call a fresh election if the motion succeeds but only after governing long enough to restore "institutional stability".

Still, his new government will likely be unstable given the sharp divisions between those who support his motion.

"The room for big economic policy shifts will be very limited, and early elections within 12 months are the most likely outcome," said Antonio Barroso, deputy research director at Teneo Intelligence.

Rajoy, meanwhile, will become the first Spanish premier to lose a no-confidence vote since the country transitioned to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

There have been three other such votes since, including one against Rajoy last year.

The vote will put paid to the 63-year-old's rollercoaster time as prime minister that saw him come to power in 2011 and implement drastic spending cuts before winning elections again in 2015 and 2016, though without the absolute majority he had in his first term.

He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.

Aside from that, his term in office was also marred by a series of corruption scandals involving former members of PP.

That prompted the no-confidence motion, which was filed last week after a court said it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005.

The National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to jail.

It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.

Rajoy became Spain's first sitting prime minister to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness last year.

In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy's testimony "should be questioned".

During Thursday's debate, Rajoy said the corruption case "does not concern members of the government" and repeated the PP's argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.

"The PP has had corrupt people, I acknowledge it but the PP is not a corrupt party," he said, before accusing Sanchez of "opportunism at the service of personal ambition".

Rajoy also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years.

"Are you Mother Teresa of Calcutta? With what moral authority do you speak?" he asked Sanchez.</s>Tomorrow, a no-confidence vote could be held in the Spanish Parliament. The present situation is such that it appears that the sitting Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, could end up losing that vote, as the socialist contender, Pedro Sanchez, is already staring down the barrel of an absolute majority in backing from the members of the parliament. The absolute majority victory of 176 votes would allow Sanchez to immediately assume power, while he is presently expected to see better results than that.

Should Rajoy lose this vote, as is expected, then he would become the first Spanish Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote. With two pro-independence parties supporting Sanchez, his victory in the parliamentary vote would put him in a position to be able to conduct constructive dialogue with the Catalonian secessionists. Between the Catalonian secession movement and the economic crisis that has gripped the Southern European nation, Rajoy’s record of failure to bring a viable solution to these issues has brought a lack of confidence in his leadership abilities, not less than issues of corruption.

The Basque Nationalist Party will vote against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence motion, Cadena Ser radio and La Sexta television said on Thursday, in a move that would almost certainly force him from office. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez needs an absolute majority of 176 votes to become Spain’s new Prime Minister, and information from various parties suggested he had now secured 180. Rajoy’s departure would trigger a second political crisis in southern Europe, further unnerving financial markets already wrongfooted by failed attempts to form a government in Italy three months after a national election. It was not clear if Rajoy could resign before the vote takes place on Friday to avoid the humiliation of becoming the first Spanish Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote. Rajoy did not attend the afternoon session of the debate on Thursday. If he did, the motion would automatically become groundless and the government of the People’s Party would go into caretaker mode until a new prime minister is sworn in, something which could take several weeks or months. If the vote did go ahead and Rajoy lost it, then Sanchez would immediately become Prime Minister.

This change of government in yet another Southern European nation is taking place almost simultaneously with the changes that are occurring in Italy, where, after three months, a Prime Minister has managed to take office with his delegation of ministers to head the country’s government. Earlier in the week, the sitting President vetoed the incoming Prime Minister’s ministerial lineup, largely over the nominated Minister of Finance, who was of a disposition hostile to the Eurozone and the common currency, thereby stoking fears that Italy could exit the common currency under such a government. Today, however, Giuseppe Conte successfully brought his revamped line up to their posts, ending months of uncertainty surrounding the political position of Italy and its participation in the bloc.

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The Government of Mariano Rajoy is ousted after a motion of no confidence passes 180–169. Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Workers' Party is sworn in as the new Prime Minister. This is the first time in Spanish history that a vote of no confidence has resulted in a change of government.