NEWLY sworn-in national president Pedro Sánchez is now starting the challenging task of building his cabinet among a very divided coalition, although several names from his previous tenure are tipped to be returning to their rôles.
Pedro Sánchez at his final investiture ceremony on Thursday, November 16 (photo: EFE)
The socialist (PSOE) leader, who has been in power since 2018, looked set to regret his gamble of bringing forward the 2023 general elections from November to July when the party's key opposition team – the right-wing PP – gained the most votes.
But with no party holding an outright majority, a coalition would be required – and only one feasible partner for the PP, being the far-right Vox, did not hold enough seats to make up the numbers.
Sánchez would have the support of the leftist party Sumar, a coalition of Podemos breakaway groups and Podemos itself – made up of the Catalunya-based branch of the latter, En Comú Podem, the satellite groups in the capital, Más Madrid and Más País, and the regional party in Valencia, Compromís.
Set up by Sánchez's then deputy president Yolanda Díaz, who took over after Podemos' founder Pablo Iglesias quit politics, Sumar is said to be likely to hold four to five ministerial leadership positions, but the original Podemos figureheads may not end up with any key rôles.
Also, in order to amass enough votes to be sworn in as president in his final investiture ceremony on Thursday, November 16, Sánchez needed to gain the support of various regional parties, including those in Catalunya who are in favour of the north-eastern territory's bid to become an independent country.
Sánchez negotiates with Catalunya's pro-independence politicians
This secession movement is outlawed by the Spanish Constitution, and an attempt to hold an illegal referendum on October 1, 2017 led to a number of Catalunya politicians fleeing the country to avoid arrest.
Having gained promises of votes in favour from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Sumar, and the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC), Sánchez sought to strike a deal with Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), formerly led by exiled regional president Carles Puigdemont.
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