After nearly a year of political uncertainty, Spain’s parliament elects Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez as the new prime minister to form and head the country’s first coalition government since the return of democracy in the 1970s. On 7 January 2020, Spain chooses a prime minister, ending nearly a year of political deadlock that included two inconclusive elections.
The leader of the Socialist party in Spain, Mr. Pedro Sanchez won the vote by a razor-thin margin of 167 in favor versus 165 against, after losing the first vote on Jan 4. He won 167 votes in the 350-seat Assembly compared to 165 votes against Catalan and Basque separatist MPs.
Last year, Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy held two national elections, in April and in November. Mr. Pedro Socialists won both, but each time without a parliamentary majority. After a slightly weaker result in the November balloting, Mr. Pedro agreed to form a coalition with Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the smaller and more radical Unidas Podemos party.
