LEADER of left-wing party Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, was rushed to hospital last night with extreme abdominal pains.
The 37-year-old was taken to A&E at the Hospital del Sureste ('south-east hospital') in Arganda del Rey, a commuter town to the east of Madrid city, sources from the party confirm.
He was diagnosed with kidney colic and was medicated and examined by casualty staff.
Iglesias did not have to be admitted, and was discharged at around 21.00hrs with prescriptions.
Speculation is rife as to whether the Podemos founder's health is suffering due to the ongoing political upheaval he is facing as fellow left-wingers, the PSOE, attempt to form a government three months after the general elections.
Podemos broke off negotiations with PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez after the latter signed a deal with centre-liberals Ciudadanos' leader Albert Rivera, and voted against Sánchez as president in the first and second round of primaries.
Iglesias' party's accounts are under investigation amid claims by opposition members that Podemos is financed by Venezuela and Iran, something Podemos has always insisted is a smear campaign and has welcomed the intervention in order to clear its name.
Prominent member of Podemos, Rita Maestre, has escaped a one-year prison sentence but been fined €4,320 for a controversial protest in Madrid Complutense University's Catholic chapel five years ago, where she and other women staged a topless demonstration, kissed each other on the lips, and shouted slogans such as 'take your rosaries out of our ovaries', and 'fewer rosaries and more geisha balls', among others referring to female body parts.
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