Caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the leader of left-wing Unidas Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, have reached a preliminary agreement to form a coalition government after Sunday’s inconclusive general election in Spain. According to sources from Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE), which took most seats at the weekend but fell short of a majority, both leaders were due to meet at around 1.45pm today in Congress, and then speak to reporters.
Talks between the leaders of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos began on Monday night in complete secrecy
Sunday’s election was called by Sánchez after negotiations between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos broke down in the wake of the April 28 general election, which returned a similar inconclusive result. The PSOE had offered Unidas Podemos a role as deputy prime minister and three ministries, but Iglesias turned them down.
The general election on Sunday saw Sánchez lose three seats in Congress, falling from 123 to 120, in a 350-seat parliament where 176 votes are needed for a majority. Podemos took 35 seats, falling from the 42 it won in April. The big winner on Sunday night was far-right Vox, which went from 24 seats to 52, becoming the third-biggest political force in Congress after the PSOE and conservative Popular Party (PP).
Talks between the leaders of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos began on Monday night in complete secrecy. It was only this morning, when the preliminary agreement was already on its way, that Socialist sources went public.
The same sources explained that once the deal is done, there will be talks with other political groups who supported Sánchez’s successful motion of no-confidence against former PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last summer, a move that saw the Socialist politician take power.
Just this morning, the president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Andoni Ortuzar, said that he was willing to recover the block of allies that came together to oust Rajoy and get Sánchez into power. This block includes parties that support Catalan independence.
The leader of the main opposition Popular Party, Pablo Casado, today informed party chiefs of the pre-deal during a meeting of the group’s national executive committee. PP sources said that the agreement between Sánchez and Iglesias frees the party of the pressure to support the PSOE in the formation of a government, and clears the way for them to exercise responsible opposition. The PP, the same sources said, is the “only alternative” to Sánchez.
Íñigo Errejón, the leader of new party Más País, applauded the preliminary agreement, saying his group – which took three seats at Sunday’s polls – would vote in favor of Pedro Sánchez’s investiture in Congress. Errejón, a co-founder of Podemos who left the party after falling out with Pablo Iglesias, said via twitter that “Spaniards had given a second chance to a progressive government to create a fairer country. And we must comply with that mandate. We salute the pre-agreement and we will work to see it backed by a majority.”
Under the agreement, Iglesias would be deputy prime minister.
With reporting from Carlos E. Cué, José Marcos, Natalia Junquera.
English version by Simon Hunter.