Spain’s foreign minister to run in European election

Spain’s foreign affairs minister Josep Borrell will run in the European election next May as the candidate for the Socialist party.

During his short term as minister, Borrell became one of the most vocal critics of the Catalan independence movement. He dismissed official figures from the Catalan government claiming that 1,066 people were injured by the Spanish police during the 2017 referendum as "fake news."

Borrell’s political experience at the European level is sound. He was the president of the EU parliament from 2004 to 2007, and it will be the second time that he runs for the Socialist party.

A heavyweight in the cabinet of Spanish president Pedro Sánchez, Borrell will leave one of the key posts of the government empty should the Socialists stay in power following the April general election.

Sánchez called a snap election two weeks ago after he failed to pass the general budget for 2019 in the Spanish Congress.