“In democracy, the revolution is made in the BOE,” warned the historic socialist Ramón Rubial. It is an appointment that Pedro Sánchez usually resorts to, but that yesterday the leadership of the PSOE already celebrated in response to the news brought by the Official State Gazette. “By virtue of the provisions of Article 62 of the Constitution, I have come to appoint Pedro Sánchez as President of the Government, to whom Congress has granted its confidence by an absolute majority in the first vote,” Felipe VI certified in the BOE.
With his appointment already published, Sánchez went to Zarzuela this Friday to take office. And then he returned to Moncloa, where he got to work to complete the next step: the formation of the coalition government of the PSOE and Sumar.
But despite the fact that Moncloa and Ferraz contemplated that this Saturday the president could announce the composition of the new executive, this appearance will be delayed.
Sánchez is preparing the organizational chart together with his closest collaborators, such as Minister Félix Bolaños and his chief of staff, Óscar López. He also has contacts with Vice President Yolanda Díaz, leader of Sumar, regarding the portfolios that the minority partner will assume.
Outside of his closest circle, Sánchez does not emit any signal, and acting and ministerial ministers – the pools in the PSOE are still boiling – claim to remain waiting for a call. “We still don’t have any indication,” they insist.
While the president puts together all the pieces of the new Council of Ministers, some in the PSOE are betting that the announcement could come this Sunday, although others believe that it could be delayed until Monday. The logic, the majority points out, is that next Tuesday the newly constituted government could meet in its first ordinary meeting.
Even before Congress endorsed his re-election as president by an absolute majority of 179 seats, Sánchez already defined this future executive with only three adjectives: “Legitimate, democratic and constitutional.”
The leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, however, called this investiture an “error.” And the leader of the far-right Vox, Santiago Abascal, described it as a “coup d’état.” Fueled by these admonitions, protests and riots take place every night in front of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street in Madrid. And numerous socialist town houses appear vandalized every morning throughout Spain. Even a group of retired military commanders yesterday urged the Army to “remove” the President of the Government.
But not only the Constitution and parliamentary democracy endorse the royal decree of appointment signed by the King. The flood of congratulations that Sánchez is receiving since he won the investiture, from numerous heads of State and Government, and other international authorities, contrast with the accusations of illegitimacy, and even illegality, put forward by the right.
From the presidents of the Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, to the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, they congratulated Sánchez for achieving the investiture.
Canadian Justin Trudeau also celebrated Sánchez’s re-election, and highlighted a relationship “based on common values, including the protection of human rights and democracy as well as a commitment to making people’s lives better.”
And very significant was the welcome of the North American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to the formation of the new government in Spain, in “a process rooted in its democratic system.” “We hope to further strengthen the lasting bond between the US and Spain, an indispensable ally, valuable partner and friend,” he conveyed.
