Spanish premier to stand again for party leadership

By Alyssa McMurtry

MADRID

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will run for reelection as leader of the Popular Party (PP), he said Monday.

Rajoy has been president of the conservative party since 2004 and Spanish prime minister since 2011.

“It was to be expected but it’s still very positive news,” PP spokesman Pablo Casado told a news conference in Madrid.

Rajoy is unlikely to face any challenge for the leadership at the party’s national congress in February, when the party will also renovate strategy for the next decade.