So long, ponytail. First he left the government, then he left politics. And now Spain's Pablo Iglesias has taken change one step further by lopping off his trademark long locks. 

Whether tied back in a ponytail or worn up in a bun, his hair has often defined the former politics professor who co-founded the radical left-wing Podemos, which joined Spain's coalition government in January 2020. 

Known for years in the Spanish press as "el coletas" -- the man with a ponytail -- Iglesias kept his look even when named a deputy prime minister, pairing his long hair with open-necked shirts at official events, or even bundling it up in a bun.

But barely a week after standing down as a politician, Iglesias has adopted a completely new look, with pictures in La Vanguardia newspaper showing the bearded 42-year-old in a checked shirt and jeans with his wavy brown hair shorn short.

Was it a centre parting or more "on the right," wondered the right-wing La  Razón newspaper, but it was impossible to say from the angle of the photos.

Iglesias resigned from politics on May 4 after Spain's left-wing parties were routed in Madrid's regional elections, just seven weeks after stepping down as deputy prime minister to run as his party's candidate.

Podemos emerged out of the anti-austerity "Indignados" protest movement that occupied public squares across Spain in 2011, with the party entering the political scene in 2014. 

Since then, Iglesias has been one of the best-known faces of Spanish politics. 

Shortly after it was established, the party was elected to the European Parliament, with ballot papers that featured a picture of his ponytail.