Spain’s King Felipe (55) has commissioned the conservative Alberto Núñez Feijóo (62) to form a government – but parliament doesn’t want to!
The deputies in Madrid allowed opposition leader Feijóo to pass in the second round of the election for prime minister. He only received 172 votes on Friday. 177 MPs were against him, one vote was invalid.
The Partido Popular, led by Feijóo, was well ahead of the Social Democrats under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (51, PSOE) in the early parliamentary elections. The Conservatives now have 136 seats in Parliament. Election winner Feijóo had already forged a deal for a minority government with the 33 members of the right-wing populist Vox – but was dependent on the mercy of his political opponents.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had a good laugh in parliament. He is now likely to be commissioned by King Felipe to form a government
Because 176 votes are needed in parliament for a majority. “Handsome Pedro” laughed the longest there today. Sanchez let the alliance of conservatives and right-wing populists perform with relish in the first round of voting on Wednesday and is now likely to be commissioned by King Felipe to form a government.
Election winner Alberto Feijóo was angry even before the foreseeable parliamentary defeat and accused Sanchez of striving for a “government of lies and deception”. The incumbent prime minister is toying with the support of the Catalan independence party Junts per Catalunya in order to get himself re-elected on November 27th. To do this, Sanchez must make concessions to the party that advocates for the independence of the Barcelona region.
If Pedro Sanchez’s political poker fails, the citizens of Europe’s fourth largest economy will have to vote again in January.