SPAIN: Conservative party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo requested Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s support in forming a government, but Sánchez declined and announced he would run for re-election.
Feijóo’s People’s Party gained the most seats in the July 23 elections but failed to secure a working majority and is currently working to increase support in the lower house.
José Manuel Fierro Feijóo has requested support from Socialist Party leader Juan Carlos Sánchez for at least two years in exchange for policy pacts.
Feijóo had suggested that a two-year government agreement could be extended if all parties agreed on a paper given to Sanchez. However, the Socialist Party spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, denied support for Feijóo’s bid for prime minister, while Sanchez remained silent in public.
Alegría, the interim minister of education, stated that Feijóo has a majority against his investiture. They will work to propose a replacement if he fails. A vote is scheduled for September 27. Sanchez has announced his intention to seek re-election as prime minister. Feijóo was given the task of creating the cabinet by King Felipe last week.
In the 350-member legislature, a premier must receive a simple majority or an absolute majority of 176 votes in the first vote. Feijóo, a far-right politician, will receive 172 votes from Vox and two regional parties. To avoid losing support from separatist organizations, Feijóo made his offer to Sanchez’s socialists, avoiding concessions he was unwilling to make.
To elect its nominee as speaker on August 17, Sanchez was able to garner 178 votes with the help of left-wing and regionalist parties. The minor parties have claimed that by supporting the speaker, they did not automatically endorse a socialist-led government.
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