For the second time during his four year term, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of confidence on Friday by the parliament on account that dozens of politicians within the leader’s center-right People's Party (PP) have been convicted of corruption in recent days.
The Spanish Socialist Party petitioned for the vote and it was decided today that the legislature will debate and vote on Rajoy’s ability to carry out his tenure this Thursday and Friday.
However, the socialist party who proposed this week’s vote may struggle to garner enough support to unseat Rajoy. The Socialists proposed their leader Pedro Sanchez replace Rajoy, but with only 84 parliamentary seats, the party has to rely on Podemos, with 67 seats and gain support from other smaller parties to garner the 176 votes to carry out its plan.
Sanchez may also have the support of Ciudadanos (Citizens) party, but its leader, Albert Rivera said on Monday he was not prepared to seek pacts with "regional nationalists and populists" to oust Rajoy.
These opposition parties are seizing this opportunity to oust the prime minister as 29 people linked to the PP were convicted last Thursday of crimes including influence-peddling and falsifying accounts.
The prime minister’s party PP is fully backing their leader saying Rajoy intends to serve out his term and that the convictions did not affect anyone within his administration. He won a confidence vote last June.
"We are deeply sorry that there were people who used the PP for self-enrichment," party spokesman Pablo Casado told the press today, adding that the no-confidence vote was irresponsible and put Spain's economic stability at risk.