Graft-tainted Spanish PM under fire from opposition, allies

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday faced down a Socialist no-confidencemotion and lost the support of his centrist allies after his Popular Party was found guilty of benefiting from illegal funds in a massive graft trial.

Spain's biggest opposition party, the Socialists, filed the motion seeking Rajoy's ouster in the 350-seat lower house of parliament, a day after the court ruling was announced. Rajoy responded angrily, accusing Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez of trying to gain power "at any cost".

"The no-confidence motion goes against the political stability that our country needs and it goes against the economic recovery. It is bad for Spain," he told a news conference. Under Spanish law, lawmakers can not simply vote to oust the government and hold elections. Instead, they need to agree on who the next leader should be, making it harder for opposition parties to reach consensus. To succeed, the motion will need the support of an absolute majority of 176 lawmakers, a difficult task as the opposition parties are deeply divided. The Socialists would need the support of the far-left Podemos party, which has already called a no-confidence vote, as well as that of several tiny regional parties, including Catalan separatist formations which have clashed with Sanchez in recent months over their independence drive.