Spanish president challenges opposition to vote him out over corruption accusations

A month after becoming the first serving Spanish president to testify in a criminal case, Mariano Rajoy addressed the Spanish Parliament following an inquiry approved by all opposition parties. Yet, he dismissed accusations of covering up corruption scandals within his party and challenged his rivals to pass a motion of no confidence.

All of the Spanish and Catalan parties said they did not trust Rajoy. The Socialists (PSOE) and left-wing coalition Unidos Podemos even called for his resignation.

“I will not abdicate my obligation,” he said referring to the opposition’s demands. “When it comes to political judgments, the judgment of the Spanish people is more equanimous than that of some MPs.”

With 137 seats out of 350, Rajoy’s People’s Party (PP) is the largest political group in the Spanish Parliament’s lower house. In June this year, Unidos Podemos tried to pass a motion of no confidence against Rajoy but failed to get enough votes.