The People's Party (PP) held its 16th national congress in Valencia from 20 to 22 June 2008, to renovate its governing bodies—including the post of president, which amounted to that of party leader—and establish the party platform and policy until the next congress. It saw Mariano Rajoy being re-elected unopposed for a second term as party president, with 84.2% of the delegate vote in the congress (2,187 votes) and 15.8% of blank ballots (409).

Overview The congress of the PP was the party's supreme body, and could be of either ordinary or extraordinary nature, depending on whether it was held following the natural end of its term or due to any other exceptional circumstances not linked to this event. Ordinary congresses were to be held every three years and called at least two months in advance of their celebration. Extraordinary congresses had to be called by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors at least one-and-a-half month in advance of their celebration, though in cases of "exceptional urgency" this deadline could be reduced to 30 days.

The president of the PP was the party's head and the person holding the party's political and legal representation, and presided over its board of directors and executive committee, which were the party's maximum directive, governing and administration bodies between congresses. The election of the PP president was based on an indirect system, with party members voting for delegates who would, in turn, elect the president. Any party member was eligible for the post of party president, on the condition that they were up to date with the payment of party fees and were proposed by at least 20% of congress delegates.

Timetable The key dates are listed below (all times are CEST. Note that the Canary Islands use WEST (UTC+1) instead):

31 March: Official announcement of the congress. 21–22 April: Election of congress delegates. 20–22 June: Party congress.

Candidates Candidate Notable positions Announced Proclaimed Candidates who met endorsement requirements and were officially proclaimed to contest the party congress. Mariano Rajoy(age ) President of the PP Leader of the Opposition of Spain Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid Secretary-General of the PP Member of the Congress of Deputies for Pontevedra Spokesperson of the Government of Spain Minister of the Presidency of Spain First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Deputy Secretary-General of the PP Minister of the Interior of Spain Minister of Education and Culture of Spain Minister of Public Administrations of Spain President of AP/PP in the province of Pontevedra Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia President of the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra City Councillor of Pontevedra Member of the Parliament of Galicia for Pontevedra Director-General for Institutional Relations of Galicia 11 March 2008

Declined The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:

Esperanza Aguirre (age ) — President of the PP of the Community of Madrid ; President of the Community of Madrid ; Member of the Assembly of Madrid ; Spokesperson of the People's Group in the Assembly of Madrid ; Senator for Madrid ; President of the Senate of Spain ; Minister of Education and Culture of Spain ; First Deputy Mayor of Madrid ; Spokesperson of the People's Group in Madrid ; City Councillor of Madrid . Juan Costa (age ) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Castellón ; Minister of Science and Technology of Spain ; Secretary of State of Trade and Tourism of Spain ; President of the Spanish Tax Agency ; Secretary of State of Finance of Spain . Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (age ) — Mayor of Madrid ; City Councillor of Madrid ; President of the Community of Madrid ; Member of the Assembly of Madrid ; Spokesperson of the People's Parliamentary Group in the Senate ; Senator appointed by the Assembly of Madrid ; Spokesperson of the People's Group in the Assembly of Madrid ; Vice President of AP ; Secretary-General of AP . Rodrigo Rato (age ) — Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund ; First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain ; Deputy Secretary-General of the PP ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid ; Second Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Spain ; Minister of Economy of Spain ; Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain ; Minister of Economy and Finance of Spain ; Spokesperson of the People's Parliamentary Group in the Congress ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Cádiz .

Endorsements Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 20% of congress delegates.

+ Summary of candidate endorsement results Candidate Delegates Count Mariano Rajoy >2,000 >66.12 100.00 Total >2,000 Valid endorsements >2,000 >66.12 Not endorsing <1,025 <33.88 Total members 3,025 Sources

Opinion polls Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the candidate's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded.

PP voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead Obradoiro de Socioloxía/Público 16 Jun 2008 1,000 – 13.7 26.8 8.2 1.3 – – 12.8 37.2 13.1 Opina/Cadena SER 12 Jun 2008 1,000 15.4 18.8 29.7 27.0 2.0 2.0 – 1.7 3.4 2.7 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 10–12 Jun 2008 1,000 21.7 9.3 31.8 24.2 0.9 – – 12.1 7.6 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 24–25 Apr 2008 1,000 25.8 14.5 25.4 18.4 – – – 15.9 0.4 InvyMark/laSexta 20 Apr 2008? 45.9 32.5 – – – – – – 21.6 13.4 Opina/Cadena SER 28 Feb 2008? – 14.0 26.0 15.0 – – 4.0 41.0 11.0

Spanish voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead Opina/Cadena SER 12 Jun 2008 1,000 11.4 11.2 44.9 16.2 2.0 1.4 2.2 10.7 28.7 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 10–12 Jun 2008 1,000 13.9 7.5 41.0 15.9 0.8 – 20.9 25.1 InvyMark/laSexta 20 Apr 2008? 35.3 29.3 – – – – – 35.4 6.0 Opina/Cadena SER 28 Feb 2008? – 8.0 38.0 8.0 – – 46.0 30.0 Opina/Cadena SER 29 Aug 2007 1,000 15.0 – 44.0 25.0 – – – 16.0 19.0

Results + Summary of the 21 June 2008 PP congress results Candidate Votes % Votes % Mariano Rajoy 2,187 84.24 2,177 84.05 Blank ballots 409 15.76 413 15.95 Total 2,596 2,590 Valid votes 2,596 98.22 2,590 98.18 Invalid votes 47 1.78 48 1.82 Votes cast / turnout 2,643 87.37 2,638 87.21 Abstentions 382 12.63 387 12.79 Total delegates 3,025 3,025 Sources

References Opinion poll sources

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