MADRID (AP) - Former Spanish prime minister and veteran politician Mariano Rajoy is vowing loyalty to his Popular Party in an emotional farewell, as the party’s leadership transitions in a bid to retake power in Spain.
The 63-year-old lost a parliamentary vote last month to his socialist opponent, Pedro Sanchez, in the wake of graft convictions for members of his center-right party.
Now in the opposition, members of PP began Friday a two-day congress to choose between Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, 47, who was deputy prime minister until June, and Pablo Casado, 37, a lawyer and rising party figure.
The winner faces the challenges of reuniting a party split by a bitter leadership battle and rebuilding its reputation as new parties, both left and right, have ended the traditional bipartisan politics.
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