Current:Home > MarketsSpain’s Pedro Sánchez expected to be reelected prime minister despite amnesty controversy -ProsperityEdge
Spain’s Pedro Sánchez expected to be reelected prime minister despite amnesty controversy
View
Date:2025-04-27 15:16:05
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is expected to be chosen by a majority of legislators to form a new government in a parliamentary vote Thursday.
The vote comes at the end of nearly two days of debate among party leaders that centered almost entirely on a highly controversial amnesty deal for Catalonia’s separatists that Sánchez agreed to in return for vital support to get elected prime minister again.
Barring any last-minute upsets, Sánchez has the support of six smaller parties, allowing him to reach the absolute majority of 176 lawmakers needed be reelected and form another minority coalition government with the left-wing Sumar (Joining Forces) party.
Spain’s inconclusive national elections on July 23 left a highly fractured parliament. The center-right Popular Party received the most votes in the elections but failed to get enough support to form a government because of its alliances with the far-right Vox party.
The Socialists finished second with 121 seats in the 350-seat Parliament but now have the support of 179 lawmakers following a series of pacts.
It remains to be seen if Sánchez can maintain the support over the next four years.
The amnesty deal that Sánchez’s Socialists signed with two key Catalan separatist parties that command 14 votes would clean the slate for hundreds of Catalan separatists in legal trouble following the northeast region’s illegal 2017 secession bid that sparked Spain’s biggest crisis in decades.
The amnesty law would benefit former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont, who is a fugitive from Spanish law and considered public enemy No. 1 by many Spaniards.
Despite lingering disagreements, the two Catalan parties as well as two Basque ones have said they intend to back Sánchez on Thursday but have let him know that he must fulfill the economic and political deals reached with each of them.
“We respect the agreements we reached. We started negotiations months ago that continue today, and Sánchez’s investiture is just one of the points of the agreement we have signed,” Míriam Nogueras, parliament spokesperson for Puigdemont´s party, Junts, told Catalonia’s RAC1 radio.
Spain’s judiciary has criticized the proposed amnesty. The European Union is reviewing it.
The proposal sparked street protests backed by the Popular Party and Vox which accuse Sánchez of betraying the nation just to stay in power. Protests outside the Socialist party’s headquarters in Madrid turned ugly last week and again on Wednesday night.
The vote is expected after 1100 GMT.
___
Wilson reported from Barcelona.
veryGood! (6835)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Lung cancer survival rates rise, but low screening rates leave many people at risk
- 2 men released from custody after initial arrest in the death of a Mississippi college student
- Hell's Kitchen: Alicia Keys' life and music inspires a new musical
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- 3 dead, 15 injured in crash between charter bus with high schoolers and semi-truck in Ohio
- Chicago firefighter dies after falling through light shaft while battling blaze
- The Promise and the Limits of the UAW Deals
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Zelle customers to get refunds for money lost in impostor scams, report says
Ranking
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Head of China’s state-backed Catholic church begins historic trip to Hong Kong
- Inflation likely eased last month thanks to cheaper gas but underlying price pressures may stay high
- 3 dead, 15 injured in crash between charter bus with high schoolers and semi-truck in Ohio
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Alaska House Republicans confirm Baker to fill vacancy left when independent Rep Patkotak resigned
- Travis Kelce Gets the Ultimate Stamp of Approval From Taylor Swift’s BFF Abigail
- Hairstylist Chris Appleton Files for Divorce From Lukas Gage After Nearly 7 Months of Marriage
Recommendation
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Giancarlo Stanton's agent warns free agents about joining New York Yankees
The SAG-AFTRA strike is over. Here are 6 things actors got in the new contract.
South Carolina jumps to No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports women's basketball poll ahead of Iowa
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Can little actions bring big joy? Researchers find 'micro-acts' can boost well-being
Escaped circus lion captured after prowling the streets in Italy: Very tense
Proposal would keep Pennsylvania students enrolled amid district residency disputes