Ex-PP veteran announces bid to capture Asturias

Just one day after issuing a stunning statement that he was abandoning the opposition Popular Party, Francisco Álvarez-Cascos, a former PP stalwart, announced Sunday that he was ready to launch a new political platform in Asturias aimed at winning the regional premier's race in May.

A former deputy prime minister under Prime Minister José María Aznar, Cascos caused a New Year's Day stir among the PP rank-and-file when he told party leader Mariano Rajoy that he was abandoning the organization after 34 years. Cascos' latest announcement- another in the fast-unfolding events that began to develop late Thursday- sent more shockwaves among the PP's inner circles.

"I have always said before January 1 that I was available and I am still available," said Cascos during a news conference when asked whether he was ready to run for regional premier. He declined to say whether he was forming his own party in Asturias.

Later he explained that "the circumstances over that availability" have changed, adding: "Before it was for the PP, now I am directing my offer to a group of Asturians who have begun to mobilize."

His resignation from the PP came just a day after the party's electoral committee selected Isabel Pérez-Espinosa as the candidate for regional premier. At the news conference, he told reporters that he left for "ethical" and "political" reasons, mentioning the ill-treatment and insults he had to endure from some PP members. "The national leadership couldn't care less about Asturias," he charged.