Spain to get new justice minister after Bermejo resigns

Madrid - Senior constitutional affairs official Francisco Caamano will be appointed Spain's new justice minister, government sources said Monday after Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo announced that he will step down. Bermejo, 61, who was appointed minister in 2007, had come under increasing criticism from the conservative opposition and even from Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialists.

The conservatives focused their campaign for Sunday's regional elections in Galicia and the Basque region partly on calls on Bermejo to resign.

The minister had gone on a hunting trip with people including high-profile judge Baltasar Garzon, who is investigating a corruption scandal among the conservatives and who is seen as being close to the socialists.

It also turned out that Bermejo faced a fine of up to 4,000 euros (6,700 dollars) for not having a licence to hunt in the southern Andalusia region, where the expedition occurred.

Tension had mounted between Bermejo and judges complaining over a lack of resources, who staged their first ever strike on Wednesday.

Zapatero had been expected to replace Bermejo in the first reshuffle of his second cabinet towards the end of the year.

Bermejo said he could not tolerate the "use" the opposition was making of the hunting trip, and that it was best for the government if he resigned.