• Rajoy to be offered first attempt, despite admission PP lacks enough votes •
If protocol is followed by Spain’s head of state, King Felipe VI, acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy confirmed Thursday he will be the first to present his candidacy next week to secure enough votes in Congress to form a new government, following the general elections that took place Dec. 20th.
Rajoy confirmed as much in comments to reporters late Thursday, in the wake of comments earlier in the day by the leader of the opposition Socialist party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, that if Rajoy were considering not presenting his candidacy to form a new government first, he should resign as head of his own Popular Party (Partido Popular, or PP) and pack it in.
Should Rajoy fail to secure enough votes to form a new government, all eyes turn to PSOE and Sánchez, who said he wishes to form a “progressive” coalition government with support from other parties, ostensibly including the new-left, anti-austerity Podemos party. The King meets today with Rajoy Rajoy, Sánchez and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, finalizing his weeklong round of talks with party leaders aimed forming the new government.
► Read the Full Story in Spanish at El País or El Mundo …
► Read the Full Story in English at The Spain Report …
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