The king, Felipe VI, will close the round of investiture consultations on Tuesday, from which the proposal for a candidate to preside over the Government would have to come out. However, in the current electoral scenario in which nothing is closed and neither of the two possible candidates, the popular Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the socialist Pedro Sánchez, have garnered sufficient support, the Head of State could also decide to repeat the round of consultations in a few days.
This Tuesday the king will meet with the leaders of Vox, PP and the PSOE. After listening to the representatives throughout the hearings held these two days, Felipe VI will be able to propose a candidate for president, if he is clear about who can carry out the investiture. Both Feijoó and Sánchez have shown their willingness to submit to the investiture, however, neither of them has closed the necessary agreements to reach a sufficient majority
Among the possibilities of what could happen today after closing the round of consultations is that Felipe VI proposes Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the PP and the candidate with the most votes in the general elections. However, because the popular does not have, right now, the parliamentary support to overcome the vote, it may be that his investiture does not prosper.
Article 99 of the Constitution does not set a time period between the consultations and the proposal, “so if no candidate is going to pass the second vote by simple majority”, the king can also decide to wait a while to give room for negotiation to the parties and call a new round of consultations after a few days. After that period, the duration of which is not determined, the king would have the constitutional obligation to propose a candidate “even if he is going to lose the vote.”
In the event that the Head of State decides to propose either of the two candidates, Sánchez or Feijóo, after accepting the assignment to try to form a government, they will have to face the two investiture votes. If the proposed candidate cannot reach an absolute majority in the first ballot nor a simple majority in the second, the two-month period will begin to run between the failed investiture and the new call for elections, for which the king must dissolve both Chambers, according to the provisions of article 99.5 of the Constitution.
Yesterday, Felipe VI met with the representatives of UPN, the Canary Islands Coalition, PNV and Sumar. This first day of consultations has not cleared up the scenario full of unknowns for the investiture. Yolanda Díaz defended Sánchez’s candidacy before the king and has been sure that the PSOE leader will have “after a not easy negotiation” with the relevant support.
Canary Coalition confirmed its vote for the PP, although it did not rule out supporting the PSOE if it complied with its demands. UPN shared that their deputy would vote in favor of the popular candidate at the investiture. The PNV spokesman has indicated that he considers the round of consultations “a bit hasty” since there are no guaranteed majorities, but he has reiterated that the PNV “will not be in any combination in which Vox is necessary”, therefore it will not support the pp.