Spain’s conservative opposition Popular party won a clear if unspectacular victory over the governing Socialists in Sunday’s European parliamentary elections, according to provisional official results.

The results, in line with the predictions of recent opinion polls, came as a relief to Mariano Rajoy, the PP leader who has been under fire from his own supporters for failing to exploit to better political effect a grave economic crisis that has left more than 4m Spaniards unemployed.