National

New PP leader gets to work as party splits refuse to go away

SUR

As of last Saturday, the conservative Partido Popular party (PP) has a new leader. At a special party conference arranged to choose the successor of former PM, Mariano Rajoy, 57 per cent of the appointed delegates voted for the party's former ... respective teams after Casado's victory, there was surprise on Thursday when Sáenz de Santamaría wasn't given a place on the party's ruling committee. At a brief meeting with Casado in parliament on Wednesday, Sáenz de Santamaría told the new leader that ... as newly elected leader, he had "no need to negotiate one". On Thursday, Casado held his first National Executive meeting in Barcelona, a clear signal of his pro-Spanish unity stance and defiance of Catalan separatism.

Local

Firefighters protest with Podemos leader's support

SUR

...national leader of the radical left-wing Podemos party, Pablo Iglesias.

Opinion

A step too far

Mark Nayler

leader wasn't always so accommodating of Catalan secessionists. "We do not accept ultimatums": this was the apparently principled stance of his government in late 2018, as ERC and other pro-independence groups celebrated the first anniversary of their ... represented in Madrid would cease to support him. On this occasion, the Socialist leader toughed it out. Just over a year later, after the two elections of 2019 had failed to award any single party a parliamentary majority, Sánchez was again in a position

National

Favourites emerge in race to take over as PP's new leader

SUR

Seven candidates had put themselves forward to lead the Partido Popular (PP) party nationally when nominations closed at 2pm on Wednesday. Delegates will choose at a special conference on 20 and 21 July who will take over following the resignation

National

Mariano Rajoy quits as party head and PP begins search for next leader

SUR

...corruption scandals that have plagued the party and eventually brought down his government. Leader of left-wing Podemos and arch critic, Pablo Iglesias, praised the outgoing PP leader after his announcement. “An elegant and intelligent politician is

National

Left-wing Podemos leader under fire for his 540k home

SUR

Pablo Iglesias, the high-profile national politician who is leader of the Podemos party that grew out of an anti-capitalist street movement, was under fire on social media and in the press this week for acquiring a luxury 540,000-euro home. The

LifeStyle

10 MAY 1936 Azaña is elected president of the Republic

Jennie Rhodes

On 10 May 1936 Manuel Azaña (b. 10 January 1880, Madrid) was elected as president of Spain's Second Republic, amid growing political and social tension in the country, which would eventually lead to Civil War. Azaña had previously held the role of

LifeStyle

Bernardo de Gálvez: from oblivion to fame

Manuel Olmedo

One might think that everything had already been said about Bernardo de Gálvez, the Macharaviaya-born military leader who fought against the British during the American War of Independence, but luckily that is not so. It seems as if new details or

Opinion

Public enemy number one?

Mark Nayler

According to Popular Party (PP) leader Pablo Casado, Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez represents a "public danger" to his country. Ciudadanos' Albert Rivera is in agreement, saying this week that it has become a "national emergency" that Sánchez ... proposed 2019 budget was, after all, the failure that triggered the upcoming election. Despite that, the Socialist leader managed to increase Spain's minimum wage by a substantial 22% as of January this year, from €736 to €900 - a raise that will make an ... legislation goes a long way towards showing that, when the Socialist leader says that his priority is the lot of average Spaniards, it's not just political posturing (or not entirely, anyway). What Casado and Rivera really have in mind when they brand

Local

"I was overbearing; he was a natural leader"

leader".

National

Vox's call for more people to buy guns causes outrage from all sides of politics

SUR

Hard-fight political newcomers, Vox, were heavily criticised this week by all parts of the political spectrum for calling for more people in Spain to be allowed to buy guns. In an interview with a Spanish pro-gun website, the leader of Vox, ... Santiago Abascal, said that he was in favour of people being able to carry a gun for self defence as long as they didn't have a criminal record. The Vox leader admitted he has a Smith & Wesson weapon after being threatened by ETA in the past. Criticism ... of the Vox-leader's view didn't take long to emerge. PP-leader Pablo Casado said he strongly disagreed and Ciudadanos said it seemed like something "out of the Wild West", when Spain was in fact a relatively violence-free country by international

Gibraltar

Gibraltar introduces curfew and strict new coronavirus measures after 'stark increase' of positive cases

SUR IN ENGLISH

COVID Platinum Command. I have also considered these proposed additional restrictions with the Leader of the Opposition. Please note that these measures will be in addition to those I already announced last week in Parliament. So our

National

Scandal deepens around family of former leader of Catalonia

SUR BARCELONA / MADRID

Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, son of the former leader of Catalonia, Jordi Pujol i Soley, was held indefinitely without bail on Tuesday after a judge decided that he was at risk of continuing to commit offences and destroying evidence. With so many large

Local

Local firms put in 935 ERTEs in two weeks as a result of new coronavirus restrictions

NURIA TRIGUERO

...out ERTEs again in a big way," said the provincial leader of the CC OO trade union, Fernando Cubillos. "What we are really scared of is an avalanche of firms going into administration when ERTEs end," he added. Period could be extended For the

National

Ex PP high-flyer who "faked degree" could get three years

SUR

PP leader but who resigned as president of the Madrid regional government, could face a prison sentence of three years if the prosecution's request is agreed to in an upcoming trial. Also appearing on trial with Cifuentes will be her assistant who

National

Puigdemont launches Republican Council

sur

The new body, which is more symbolic than real, is not part of the Catalan regional government but has its support, and is not funded with public money. The council will be led from Belgium by Carles Puigdemont, who headed the Catalan government b

National

Susana Díaz to unveil plan to become PSOE leader

SUR andalucía

Former leader, Pedro Sánchez, and Patxi López are also to stand.

National

Former leader of Catalonia banned from office over illegal referendum

SUR BARCELONA

The former president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has been banned from public office for two years by a Barcelona court for his part in the organisation of an independence referendum held in November 2014. Two other former regional ministers were also ba

Sport

Trocadero Marbella come close to upsetting leaders Liceo Francés

SUR MARBELLA

Trocadero Marbella pushed Liceo Francés de Madrid to the limit despite a 17-22 home loss to the league leaders. The hosts also had to deal with a sending off, which was shown to one of their players after he received a second yellow card. The lea

Sport

Trocadero Marbella Rugby pick up bonus point and close in on the leaders

JULIO RODRÍGUEZ

Trocadero Marbella Rugby Club are making their presence known to the early leaders. The Costa del Sol side gave a masterclass in attack with a commanding 46-8 win over Unión de Rugby Almería who, even with their latest recruits, couldn't match the ho

National

PM talks business and human rights on tour of Latin America

SUR

...was not far from people's minds. In Chile on Monday he praised that country's efforts to come to terms with the dictatorship of Augustus Pinochet and a national museum on the subject. In Bolivia, leader Evo Morales promised that, despite

National

Talks continue between the PP and Ciudadanos over new Junta government

SUR

...party will support its new coalition automatically, Vox's Andalusian leader criticised them both on Wednesday. Francisco Serrano said, "We won't get in the way of a PSOE exit, but we aren't going to let them [PP and Cs] blank us out." He added that he ... insistence that its regional leader, Juan Marín, should be the president. They had argued that as Cs' number of MPs had jumped the most, from 9 to 21, it should be the leader of "the change". However it now seems likely that the PP, which came second to

Opinion

In two minds

Mark Nayler

...support the Socialists' 2019 budget - tabled for a parliamentary vote in January - unless Sánchez softens his anti-secession stance. It's also a move that highlights the PSOE leader's schizophrenic tactics with regard to the Catalonia problem.

Local

Junta backs Benahavís' new PGOU urban plan, clearing way for 2,000 new homes

Héctor Barbotta

...them will be luxury properties, and this will make the municipality the leader in terms of luxury accommodation in Andalucía. With the new PGOU plan, Benahavís also becomes one of the municipalities in Malaga province with the most land for public

Opinion

Mansplaining

ELENA DE MIGUEL

...situation, perhaps not as extreme as Solnit's but similar, and out of politeness endured the boring speech so that the peacock could open his splendid tail feathers. Mr Casado (Partido Popular leader) offered a text book example of mansplaining last week.

National

New PSOE leader calls Rajoy to say ‘no’ to Catalonian referendum

N. V. madrid

The first telephone call from newly re-elected leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, to prime minister Mariano Rajoy was about the Catalonian government’s threat to stage an unauthorised independence referendum. The opposition leader has clashed

National

Rajoy reminds May that the EU will negotiate Brexit as a "united" bloc

sur

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, reminded Theresa May in a telephone conversation on Thursday that the EU will negotiate Brexit as a united front, government sources said. The British prime minister telephoned her Spanish counterpart on T

National

Final straight in race to be next leader of the PSOE

sur

This Sunday, 21 May, sees the primary elections for the new leader of the PSOE socialist party. Party members will choose between three candidates for the position, which has been vacant since last October. A conference in June will ratify the ... decision. Taking part in a leadership debate this week were Susana Díaz, president of the Junta de Andalucía, Patxi López, former speaker in parliament and Pedro Sánchez, former party leader. Díaz and Sánchez are the two favourite candidates with opposed

Local

National Police arrest three men from human trafficking network

L. GONZÁLEZ-SANTIAGO. SEville

Three Nigerian men belonging to a large human-trafficking network have been arrested by National Police. One of whom is believed to be the leader of the group. The gang are thought to have smuggled people from Nigeria into Spain and other parts of ... leader of the group, Evo Rabel, was arrested in Morocco and is accused of forcing women into prostitution as well as being the person who controlled the movement of the women across the Strait of Gibraltar. The other two men supposedly led operations

National

German court grants Carles Puigdemont bail and refuses to recognise Spanish rebellion charge

SUR

Spanish offence of rebellion. It had been hoped by the Spanish Supreme Court that Germany would compare its own offence of high treason to that of rebellion, and so agree to return Puigdemont to Spain on a more serious charge. The Catalan leader has been

Opinion

Time's up

Mark Nayler

Pedro Sánchez's attempt to push a 2021 budget through parliament next month will be a severe test of his government's legitimacy and efficacy. Worryingly, though, the Socialist leader appears to think that the damage caused by his management of ... flunk. If he fails to pass a budget for a second time, his term should be up and the polls should be opened. It was, after all, the Socialist leader's inability to pass a budget that triggered the April 2019 election, which was so indecisive that another

Sport

Marbella draw with La Roda to leave them three points adrift of leaders Lorca

Julio Rodríguez Marbella

Marbella could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to La Roda on Sunday, leaving them three points behind leaders Lorca, who earned a 1-0 victory away at San Fernando. The heavy rain had a major influence on the first half, and it was La Roda who adapt

Local

London business leaders discover Malaga's potential as an investment destination

PEDRO LUIS GÓMEZ

"We've come to London to share the message of a grand and hospitable city: one that is attractive, like few in the world, to live in, to invest in and to work in." With these words the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, opened his speech to a gr

National

All smiles between PP candidates

sur

...fomer leader, Mariano Rajoy, and Pablo Casado, closer to the right wing of the party. Despite their differences, both were in good spirits at a dinner on Tuesday. The election process follows accounts of widespread corruption within PP, as its ... position as the country's leading party became untenable. A new leader is set to be chosen before the end of July.

National

Trump meets Sánchez at NATO summit

Amid this week's tensions between the United States and its allies at the NATO summit in Brussels, Donald Trump and Spain's new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez had the first opportunity to shake hands. As is the concensus between the other NATO count

National

Catalan president meets Pedro Sánchez in Madrid to "prepare dialogue"

SUR

The first formal meeting between the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the pro-independence president of the Catalan regional government, Quim Torra, took place in Madrid on Monday. Held at the new PM's official residence, La Moncloa, the talks we

National

Dejected Díaz vows to fight on to try to keep power and stop the rise of the far-right

SUR

Susana Díaz, regional PSOE leader and current acting president of the Junta de Andalucía, was clearly shocked by the election result on Sunday night. Speaking to supporters at her party's campaign base in Seville, she claimed little personal ... stressed that she was still leader of the largest party in Andalucía and had the right to try to form the next regional government. The poor PSOE result was also a blow to the central government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as it was the first test

National

Pedro Sánchez is Spain's new prime minister after vote of no confidence in Rajoy

SUR

The Socialist party leader Pedro Sánchez has become Spain's new prime minister after a majority of MPs supported the vote of no confidence on Friday, toppling the ruling Partido Popular party (PP) and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Sánchez ... of Mariano Rajoy before the vote had been the only option remaining to stop PSOE Socialist party leader Pedro Sánchez becoming prime minister. Rajoy refused to resign despite pleas from Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera to go before the vote succeeded.

Opinion

Getting to the point

Mark Nayler

...epithets. Lacking as he does cross-party support for the motion, Vox leader Santiago Abascal also knows that it's unlikely to remove the Socialists and their junior partner, leftist Podemos, from power. But that's not the point: by leading the criticism ... The Vox leader's no-confidence motion against Pedro Sánchez is undoubtedly part of that ongoing (and fairly successful) project, but it's misleading to characterise it solely as a sideways attack on the PP, or to dismiss it as nothing more than

LifeStyle

Bobastro: the rebel's refuge

FERNANDO TORRES

Leaving behind the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge and the Caminito del Rey walkway, one approaches the remains of Bobastro. This location in Ardales was firstly the refuge and later the general headquarters of Omar ben Hafsún's rebellion against t