- Former PP Parliamentary Spokesperson is a party man, close to Soraya
- No further changes in Cabinet planned, says PP
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| New Minister (r.) and predecessor at hand-over |
MADRID -- Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made the decision last Monday to include a party loyalist in his cabinet in substitution of Ana Mato, whose husband is under investigation in the Gürtel case and who resigned last week as a result. The new minister, Alfonso Alonso, was sworn in as Minister of Health, Social Policy and Equality on Wednesday last. Alonso, 47, hails from Vitoria, Galicia, and is known to be politically close to Vice-President Soraya Sáenz de Santa María, whose power in the cabinet is thus increased. She was also instrumental in choosing the new Minister of Justice, Rafael Catalá when Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón resigned last month. The new man at Health
has his work cut out for him a year before national elections.
has his work cut out for him a year before national elections.
Among his top jobs is to change the Abortion Law (which did Ruiz-Gallardón in) to more closely meet the Right wing of the party. If passed, these will mean mainly that under-16s will no longer be able to obtain an abortion without parental consent.
Alonso is a lawyern and his speciality is not Health by any means, but then nor was it his predecessor's. He comes from a classic climb up the party ladder, having been Mayor of Vitoria for six years: not an easy job in the midst of ETA country and the only Basque city under PP local government at the time.
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