To be sworn in as President of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo needed this Wednesday the absolute majority of the full Congress, that is, 176 deputies and he was left with 172. However, the PP candidate was on the verge of receiving unexpected support by mistake. , that of the socialist deputy Herminio Rufino Sancho.
During the vote, by show of hands, which resulted in 178 votes against and 172 in favor of Feijóo, the second secretary of the table, also a socialist Isaura Leal, was reading the names of the deputies until the turn came. of Herminio Rufino Sancho who against the odds has said yes.
The secretary of the Board repeated her co-religionist’s yes and then said “no… sorry?” Upon realizing her mistake, in the midst of a general murmur in the plenary session, Herminio Rufino Sancho wanted to correct his vote and justified himself by saying that Leal had mispronounced his last name. Certainly the second secretary had called him Sánchez instead of Sancho.
Leal then apologized and called the deputy again correctly, giving him the opportunity to rectify his vote.
The case has been reminiscent of that of former popular deputy Alberto Casero, who in the last legislature saved the Government’s labor reform thanks to an error in electronic voting, but in the case of today’s vote it has not gone beyond an anecdote, since although not could have rectified Feijóo, he would still have been three votes short of achieving the investiture.
Herminio Rufino Sancho Íñiguez is 57 years old, he was born in Mezquita de Jarque (Teruel), a town of which he has been mayor since 2007, and this is his third consecutive term in Congress for Teruel. He is a farmer and rancher, married with three children. He was a deputy to the Cortes of Aragon between 2015 and 2019 and a regional councilor from 2011 to 2015. He is general secretary of UAGA-Teruel and president of the Cotega and Oviaragón Cooperative.
