Popular Party welcomes news of Francisco Camps' acquittal

Popular Party (PP) officials reacted with cautious joy to the acquittal of fellow party member Francisco Camps, who'd been charged with accepting gifts from a corrupt business network while he was the Valencian premier.

National and regional leaders expressed satisfaction at the jury verdict, but stopped short of saying that Camps should return to active politics.

"I am happy," said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. "I will always respect the courts' decisions, even though you can like some more than others." Regarding Camps' future, Rajoy would only say that "he is a person who carries the same weight in our party as any other leader."

Alberto Fabra, Camps' successor at the helm of the Mediterranean region, also recommended that he take a break.

"There is time enough to talk calmly and ask [Camps and his co-defendant Ricardo Costa] what they want to do in the future," said Fabra.

But Camps has become an uncomfortable figure for the party, a fact that Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba touched upon when he told PP members in Congress that "if you think he is an exemplary citizen [...] then you can reinstate him as Valencian premier."