The teenager who punched Spain prime minister Mariano Rajoy in the head at a rally in his home region of Galicia is a distant relative of the politician. Video footage from the rally showed a young man launch a surprise-punch to the side of the leader of the People's Party leader's head.

The teenager was quickly tackled by bodyguards after the attack on 15 December and arrested by police. It has since been reported that the 17-year-old is, in fact, Andres de Vicente Fuentes – a distant relative of Rojoy.

Spanish media claims Fuentes, who shouted "I'm happy I did that" after the assault and criticised Rajoy on Twitter, is the son of a cousin to the prime minister's wife, Elvira Fernandez Balboa. He told police that he had punched the prime minister because "he had two salaries" — a reference to claims, disputed by Rajoy, that the prime minister has a secret slush fund.

On Thursday, Rajoy told supporters ahead of Sunday's elections, "You should not make political capital out of this incident."

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