Powerful Spanish regional leader under pressure as court investigates her partner’s tax affairs

By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge has opened an investigation into alleged fraud and false documentation against the partner of Madrid’s powerful rightwing regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has recently faced a wave of calls to resign over several controversies. The move Friday is certain to put more pressure on her party, Spain’s main conservative opposition Popular Party, to take action against her. Ayuso, who is seen as a possible future party leader and prime ministerial candidate, has come under fire in recent months on several fronts. She says the allegations are part of an opposition campaign to try to halt her political rise.