• Sudden resignation accepted by Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy •
Veteran Popular Party (PP) politician Esperanza Aguirre resigned suddenly Sunday afternoon as leader of PP in the city of Madrid as a result of an investigation into alleged illegal financial contributions to the local party linked to former PP official Francisco Granados, who has been serving jail time since 2014 on related charges.
Aguirre, a veteran of conservative Popular Party (PP) politics who has served as a Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the Senate in her 33-year political career, is one of the highest-ranking PP officials yet to have resigned in relation to the corruption charges that continue to hound regional and local officials of the conservative PP nationwide.
Her resignation came just three days after a raid Thursday on the PP headquarters in Madrid by the anti-corruption squad of Spain’s Civil Guard police in response to allegations involving illegal financing of the party through kickbacks from a construction company.
► Read the Full Story in Spanish at El País …
► Read the Full Story in English at Reuters …
