Madrid - Spain's main opposition conservative People's Party (PP) was Friday opening a three-day party congress aimed at reinforcing the leadership of its president Mariano Rajoy and at ending a months-long crisis within the party.

Rajoy, 53, who has come under heavy criticism after his second consecutive election defeat to Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in March, was virtually certain to be reconfirmed as party leader at the congress held in the eastern city of Valencia.

Rajoy has announced the choice of Maria Dolores de Cospedal, 42, as new secretary-general in replacement of former interior minister Angel Acebes.

With Cospedal as secretary-general and the earlier appointment of Soraya Saenz de Santamaria as the PP spokeswoman in parliament, two of the three top posts within the party are occupied by women in an attempt to give the PP a more modern image.

The PP's moderate wing believes the party to have lost votes in the elections over its virulent opposition to Zapatero's failed attempt to negotiate a peace deal with the militant Basque separatist group ETA.

Many female and young voters also saw the party as exceedingly conservative on social issues, with some of its representatives joining Catholic bishops at rallies against homosexual marriage and speedy divorce.

Rajoy's s attempts to give the PP a more moderate image have earned him criticism from party hardliners such as Madrid regional Prime Minister Esperanza Aguirre and Basque PP leader Maria San Gil, who dealt Rajoy a heavy blow by stepping down over her disagreements with him.

Aguirre and former science minister Juan Costa have been tipped as possible successors to Rajoy, but neither of them decided to challenge his leadership, reportedly for fear of not mustering enough support.

The internal power struggles within the PP have given a respite to the Zapatero government, which is struggling with a deepening economic downturn linked to a meltdown in the construction sector and the global credit crunch.

The appointment of Cospedal was seen as another attempt by Rajoy to anchor the PP more firmly in the centre of the political spectrum.

The PP leader in the southern region of Castile La Mancha is a single mother by artificial insemination, and has expressed support for gay marriages, the daily El Pais reported.

Rajoy was seen as trying to respond to the social liberalism of Zapatero, who appointed Spain's first female-dominated cabinet in April, after passing a law granting homosexuals the same marriage rights as heterosexuals in 2005.

The PP is divided on homosexual marriage, and was trying to steer clear of an open debate on the subject at the Valencia congress. (dpa)