Sánchez sworn in as president
Wednesday, January 8, 2020 @ 12:52 AM
PEDRO Sánchez is now officially president of Spain and King Felipe VI has signed the paperwork giving his Royal assent to the appointment.
The PSOE's (socialists') coalition partners, leftists Podemos, had struck a deal with Sánchez 24 hours after the elections on November 10 – despite these elections having been held as a result of the two parties' failing to reach an agreement after Spain went to the polls in April – and will now form an active part of the new government, including running ministries.
Full details of appointments will be revealed over the next few days.
Podemos' leader, Pablo Iglesias, burst into tears of relief and joy when Sánchez made it through the second round of Parliamentary voting with 167 in favour and 165 against.
In the first round, Sánchez needed an outright majority of MPs to vote in his favour – 176 out of 350 – which, until four or five years ago, was normally straightforward as one of the two main parties would always achieve a majority of seats in a general election.
Nowadays, with more parties on the scene, a hung Parliament is normally guaranteed, meaning the presidential candidate has to negotiate with all the opposition outfits to convince them to vote in his favour.
If – as was the case with Sánchez on Sunday – the first round failed to provide a majority in his support, the candidate goes through to a second round 48 hours later, in which he needs only a simple majority, or more 'yes' than 'no' votes.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com