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Veteran Spanish conservative politician shot in face in Madrid street

Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street, police have said.

The 78-year-old was hit in the face in a central street in the capital at about 1.30pm local time and conscious when taken to hospital, police added.

According to Spanish state news agency EFE, police believe the suspect was a person who escaped the scene on a motorbike wearing a black helmet.

Alejandro Vidal-Quadras
Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to a hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street in the capital, police have said (Thierry Charlier/AP)

Mr Vidal-Cuadras was a long-time member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, its regional leader in Catalonia, and a European Parliament member before he broke away to help found the far-right Vox party.

He left Vox just after a failed bid to win a European seat in 2014.

Police are investigating the shooting.

Vox president Santiago Abascal said he believed Mr Vidal-Quadras’ life was not in immediate danger.

Police at the scene of the shooting
Police at the scene of the shooting (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Popular Party president Alberto Nunez Feijoo deplored the shooting and wished for Mr Vidal-Quadras’ recovery.

Mr Vidal-Quadras has not been active in politics for several years, but he has maintained a public role as a media commentator and columnist.

He served as a vice president for the European Parliament and took a heavy interest in foreign affairs, participating in the legislature’s delegations to the former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

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