No Podemos ministers in new Spanish government: PM's aide

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Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, propelled to power by an unlikely alliance of rival parties, on Sunday worked on putting together a minority government which a close aide said would not include ministers from the hard-left Podemos party.

The Socialist party leader, a pro-European who is a newcomer to government, says he wants his government to last until mid-2020 when the parliamentary term ends.

Sanchez rose to power unexpectedly as a result of a corruption scandal that toppled conservative Mariano Rajoy. But with only 84 out of 350 seats in parliament, it is unclear how long a Sanchez government can last.

Pedro Sanchez, leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), gestures as he speaks during a no-confidence motion vote at parliament in Madrid, June 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

Podemos, which helped Sanchez to oust Rajoy, said it wants to be in the government. The anti-austerity party wants generous welfare policies and tougher regulations and taxes on banks.

A single-party Socialist government with 84 lawmakers would be “more unstable than one that includes other political forces,” Pablo Echenique, a leading member of Podemos said.

Pedro Sanchez was sworn in as Spain’s new prime minister by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace on Saturday.

Spanish people celebrate after parliament passed a motion of no-confidence at the Lower House of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, June 1, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Sanchez succeeded Mariano Rajoy who was voted out of office on Friday in a no-confidence motion that saw 180 votes in favor, 169 against and one abstention.

It is the first time a Spanish prime minister has come to power as the result of a no-confidence vote.

(Cover: Spanish new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L) shakes hands with former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (R) after Sanchez won the no-confidence motion at the Lower House of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, June 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters