Race to succeed Rajoy starts in the PP

The race to succeed Mariano Rajoy as head of the Spanish People's Party has just kicked off, and there are two big names gunning for the post: former vice president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría and former Minister of Defence and secretary general of the party, María Dolores de Cospedal.

These two women are two of the favorites to lead the conservative party after Rajoy was ousted following a motion of no-confidence at the beginning of the month.

But there are other contestants, too: José Manuel García-Margallo, former Foreign Affairs minister and a strong critic of Sáenz de Santamaría. He’s thrown his hat into the ring alongside Pablo Casado, one of the young names of the party and currently vice-secretary of Communication of the party. Meanwhile, Alberto Nuñez-Feijóo, president of Galicia and who was also considered a potential successor of Rajoy, announced on Monday that he will not run.

Sáenz de Santamaría was Rajoy's closest ally in the government. As his right-hand, she led the Spanish government’s response on the Catalan crisis, which prompted the intervention of Article 155.

Cospedal was also one of Rajoy's closest allies, and that was the root of a long, behind-the-scenes dispute between her and Saénz de Santamaría. The former minister of Defense was also president of her region, Castilla-la-Mancha.  

The candidates will start their campaigns on Wednesday, and there will be a vote on July 5. Party members will choose which candidate or candidates make it to the party conference on July 20-21, when a final decision will be taken.