Spain’s ex-PM Rajoy to stand down as head of People's Party

Spain’s former prime minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday that he would stand down as leader of the People’s Party (PP) after it was ousted from government by a no-confidence vote from Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez. “It’s best for me, best for the party and best for Spain,” Rajoy told party members, Reuters reports. The Socialists replaced the PP as the country’s leaders on Friday after parliament passed a no-confidence motion against Rajoy over a slew of corruption cases. The new cabinet will be officially named on Wednesday. The Socialists will be keen to announce a rise in spending after years of austerity under the conservative PP. They are still bound to reduce the public deficit to a Brussels target of 2.2 percent of economic output from 3.1 percent in 2017, Reuters said.