Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is poised to be ousted from office after a Basque party on Thursday gave its decisive support to a no-confidence motion over a corruption case, making it all but certain to succeed. Bar any last minute u-turns, this will be the first time since Spain transitioned back to democracy after the 1975 death of Francisco Franco that a prime minister is toppled by a vote of no-confidence.
In parliament, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) said its five lawmakers would vote against Rajoy, who was conspicuously absent from the lower house after earlier launching a staunch defence against the motion, scheduled for Friday. This gives the main opposition Socialist party, which filed the motion, the absolute majority of 176 votes needed for it to pass.
It will also put paid to the 63-year-old's rollercoaster time as prime minister that saw him come to power in 2011 and implement drastic spending cuts before winning elections again in 2015 and 2016, though without the absolute majority he had in his first term.
Aside from the deeply unpopular austerity measures, his term in office was also marked by a series of corruption scandals involving former members of his Popular Party (PP).
That prompted the no-confidence motion, which was filed last week after a court said it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005.
The National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to jail. It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.
Rajoy became Spain's first sitting prime minister to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness last year, prompting calls for him to resign.
In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy's testimony "should be questioned".
Earlier on Thursday, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez demanded Rajoy step down, arguing he had lost credibility after the court ruling, though the PP's number two Maria Dolores de Cospedal later ruled out his resignation before the vote.