On Tuesday, January 7, the lower house of the Spanish parliament elected a prime minister during a second vote. They became the general secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (ISRP) Pedro Sanchez. This put an end to the political crisis that began on April 28th. Elections were held that day, as a result of which not a single party managed to get a majority in parliament. Political forces could not form a cabinet.

“Over the past four years, we have had a government with full authority for a year and a half. It is unacceptable that this be repeated in the future. We must look for mechanisms so that this does not happen again. My faction and I promise to look for formulas, ”Sanchez said.

On Sunday, January 5, the first round of voting took place, within which the candidate for the post of prime minister needed to get the support of the absolute majority of the deputies, that is, at least 176 out of 350. Then Sanchez failed to do this, he was supported by only 166 parliamentarians.

However, during the second round, where it was enough to enlist the support of a simple majority, the ISRP Secretary General won by two votes - 167 people voted for him, 165 against him, another 18 abstained.

Sanchez managed to achieve the election for the post of Prime Minister in many respects due to the agreement with the left party Podemos. In addition, the representative of a number of small parties supporting the independence of Catalonia and the Basque country supported the General Secretary of the ISRP. In this regard, Sanchez was criticized by Pablo Casado, the leader of the right-wing People’s Party, which has 89 seats in parliament.

“There were two enemies in our country - terrorists and coupists. Spaniards cannot be held hostage to guarantee votes for approval. You have entered into agreements with the ultra-left, supporters of independence and the Batasunians (Batasuna is a party banned in Spain after it was established with the terrorist group ETA. - RT ), now they are your comrades-in-arms, and you don’t give explanations to the Spaniards, ” he stressed.

Thus, for the first time in the modern history of Spain, a coalition government will be formed. He will be led by the socialist Sanchez, the post of vice-chairman of the cabinet will be given to the leader of Podemos Pablo Iglesias, and his party members will occupy several ministerial posts.

  • Reuters

"Sanchez" borrowed "from the separatists"

According to Alexander Chichin, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, the Podemos party will influence the course of the coalition government formed by the socialist Pedro Sanchez.

“This will be the same course that Sanchez pursued, being the chairman of the government for more than a year, with only a slight adjustment, now from the left, than his political party, forces - from the side of Podemos,” the source said .

In his opinion, the Podemos party will direct the Cabinet’s course towards social reform and budget redistribution in favor of the least well-off segments of the population.

“There will be a more democratic direction in politics. What is the importance of this party? The fact that they can become moderators, mediators in some kind of settlement of the Catalan issue. Catalonia can count on the Podemos party. Thanks to the fact that the left Republicans in Catalonia abstained in the issue of voting, it is now clear that Sanchez “lent” the separatists the necessary votes so that from the second attempt to go in and become chairman of the government, in exchange for sitting at the negotiating table and starting to decide a question, ”stated Chichin.

Recall that in October 2019 a series of protests took place in Catalonia due to the fact that the Supreme Court of Spain sentenced 12 former officials and public figures convicted of involvement in the organization of the referendum on independence in 2017 to prison terms and fines.

In turn, the head of the sector of regional problems and conflicts IMEMO named after E.M. Primakov Academy of Sciences Konstantin Voronov believes that the policy of the coalition government will not be much different from that pursued by Sanchez, being in the status of acting.

“First of all, the desire to preserve the integrity of the state and curb the separatist sentiments that are now observed in Spain, in particular in Catalonia, not to mention other provinces, in particular, Basque Country. Secondly, this is a continuation of the course towards European integration, the desire to enter Spain into the new EU reformatted after the brexit. These serious and important tasks will be difficult for the new cabinet, but nevertheless these tasks remain, they are long-term, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.