Spain: King Instructs Sanchez To Form New Government
Last week, the winner of the July 24 elections, Spanish People's Party chairman Alberto Nunez Feijoo, tried in vain to form a government with the support of the right-wing group Vox (Voice)
Pedro Sánchez, a member of the Socialist Party and outgoing prime minister, may form a new government. This order was given to him today, October 3, by the King of Spain, Felipe V, as reported by the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, Francina Armengol.
“We will work seriously to form a government that will ensure stability and respond to the challenges that await us,” Sanchez explained to EFE. “I will work body and soul, so that in the coming weeks, in the course of difficult negotiations, we could achieve the government that Spaniards deserve and need after weeks of wasting time by the country.”
The winner in the July 24 elections was the People’s Party of Alberto Nunez Feijoo that, however, did not have enough numbers to form the executive branch. His proposal was effectively rejected by the parliament with 177 votes against, obtained through the combined forces of the Socialists (PSOE), another left party SUMAR, the Republican Left Party of Catalonia (ERC), Together for Catalonia (Junts), and the formations of the Basque and Galician nationalists.
Now Sanchez will have to consolidate all these different opinions to form a government, and the key match will be played with the Catalan Junts, who have long dictated the terms. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is calling for an amnesty (based on the facts related to the 2017 Catalan referendum and subsequent declaration of independence) and a new referendum on self-determination. Last week, the respected Felipe Gonzalez, a former Socialist prime minister, also spoke out against this option, explaining, “The Constitution is not a chewing gum; it does not provide for amnesty or self-determination.”
The People’s Party relied on precisely this, as well as on some retreats among the socialists, as it lacked only 4 votes for the Feijoo government, the votes that, however, were never found. The ball now goes to Sánchez, who explained on the Catalan issue that “the time has come for generosity and politics to solve problems.”