2023-08-22 19:57:38
Felipe VI expressed “his decision to propose Mr. Alberto Núñez Feijóo as a candidate for the presidency of the government,” announced the president of Congress, Francina Armengol, following meeting with the monarch, in a statement before the Congress of Deputies.
Neither Feijóo nor Sánchez They currently have the support to achieve an absolute majority of 176 of the 350 deputies that will allow them to govern.
On the social network X, Feijóo thanked the monarch for “his decision” and guaranteed that he will give a voice to the Spanish “who want change, stability and moderation with a Government that defends the equality of all”. Armengol indicated that he will contact Feijóo in the next few hours to set the date for the investiture debate.
If Feijóo does not achieve it, the elections will be repeated
The right-wing leader had previously indicated that if he were appointed by the king, he would begin consultations with the different political parties next Monday, although he asked not to rush the times.
If the investiture is unsuccessful, a two-month countdown will be activated for the legislative elections to be repeated, unless Sánchez manages to constitute a majority within that period.
The king indicated in a statement that his decision followed the “custom” that it is “the candidate of the political group that has obtained the greatest number of seats” who is “the first to be proposed” for the investiture.
Feijóo has a maximum of 172 votes: 137 from the PP deputies, 33 from the far-right Vox party and the deputies from two small regional parties. But for now, facing an investiture debate, the socialist leader has 164 votes, including 131 from his party and 31 from the extreme left.
Sánchez: appointment of Feijóo “would be a failed investiture”
The appointment of Feijóo “would be a failed investiture,” Sánchez predicted, although he announced that he would not object if the king appointed his rival to try to form a majority.
Felipe VI, as head of state, “has the respect and support of the Socialist Party,” he said. “There is no other alternative than to reissue a government of progress,” Sánchez stressed, referring to the coalition of the Socialists with the extreme left of the outgoing government.
But Sánchez hopes to add the support of regional nationalist and pro-independence parties, as happened last week, when the socialist Francina Armengol was elected as president of Congress, with 178 votes in favor.
Two parties that voted in favor of Armengol, the Catalan separatists Izquierda Republicana de Cataluña (ERC) and Junts per Catalunya (JuntsxCat), indicated that they would sell their support dearly to re-edit a Sánchez government.
JuntsxCat demands an independence referendum for Catalonia and a general amnesty for all those accused of the unconstitutional secessionist attempt of 2017, surrounded by large demonstrations and, in some cases, riots. Among those accused is the main leader of that party, Carles Puigdemont, a refugee in Belgium and claimed by the Spanish justice system.
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