Leader of PP party agrees to step down after dramatic war of words

Spain's main opposition party, the centre-right Partido Popular (PP), has been hit by a dramatic internal scandal in the past week that has forced its leader Pablo Casado to agree he will stand down.

In a fast-moving series of events, senior party members and leaders of the PP in the regions gradually withdrew their support for Casado and his number two and main adviser, party secretary general, Teodoro García Egea.

The crisis broke on Thursday last week, after press reports of a supposed attempt to spy on the leader of the Madrid regional government, the PP's Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The alleged aim was to find out details of a contract awarded by the Madrid regional health service for Covid protection masks at the height of the pandemic - a contract which Ayuso's brother was suspected of earning commissions of some 288,000 euros from.

What followed was a sudden war of words with Ayuso accusing the national leadership under Casado of plotting to "cruelly" destroy her politically and to be making up "supposed corruption" in order to discredit her.

The attempt at spying was reportedly made through a part of Madrid's city council - also PP controlled in coalition with Ciudadanos - that had contacted a private detective who had then declined to take on the job. The city hall official involved at the council resigned immediately ahead of an internal investigation's findings.

In reply to Ayuso, Pablo Casado's team denied spying but said it had been investigating for six months if Ayuso had been involved in corrupt practices at the regional government. He added that he would never have let his brother do the same thing.

Ayuso denied she had done anything illegal, explaining there was no commission involved, that her brother had been in health supply procurement for many years and that he had been paid a 55,000 fee for his management of the contract without her involvement. In short, in her view, it appeared a miscalculated smear by the national PP leader who has run the party for four years.

Amid a hailstorm of accusations and counter accusations between the Madrid regional government building and the PP party's head office, added to by hastily submitted complaints to courts about Ayuso's alleged corruption by the PP's opposition parties in the regional assembly, it became clearer by the hour that either Casado or Ayuso would have to step down.

Last weekend thousands of supporters demonstrated at the headquarters of the PP in favour of Ayuso. As this week progressed, more of the party national executive resigned their roles or withdrew support, realising that the very public row, which they viewed as being created by Casado's team, was severely damaging the party reputation with voters.

By Wednesday this week, almost all support for Casado was gone. High-profile figures, such as the regional president of Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, called for rapid decisions and the need to turn a page. Casado's loyal number two, Secretary General García Egea, had tendered his resignation on Tuesday, but it was not enough.

After a long meeting on Wednesday, the party grandees had brokered a deal for Casado's graceful exit. A special party congress will be called for 2-3 April, when a new leader will be voted in. Casado had been asked to stay in his role until then.

As the crisis grew this week, the name of a possible successor who could unite the PP came to the fore. The current regional president of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo is known as a steady pair of hands, although in previous years he has ruled himself out as a national candidate.

It is likely that he will accept that his name go forward to be new national leader and he is widely viewed as the favourite, if not the only candidate capable of drawing a line under potentially the most traumatic week ever for the PP.