King proposes PP leader forms Government of Spain

Following the round of consultations with the political formations which took place on Monday and Tuesday this week, King Filipe has proposed Mr. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, head of the Partido Popular (PP) as a candidate for the Presidency of the Government and has forwarded said proposal to the President of the Congress of Deputies for the corresponding purposes.

This is the normal procedure set out as part of Article 99 of the Spanish Constitution, on account of Feijóo and the PP obtaining the most public votes in the July elections.

In a statement from the Royal Palace, the following considerations are made public:

First – The representatives of the political groups with parliamentary representation that have appeared in the procedure have explained to His Majesty the King the meaning of their parliamentary support.

Second – The representative of the Partido Popular, Mr. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has conveyed to His Majesty the King his willingness to be a candidate for the investiture process as President of the Government.

Third – The Partido Popular has been the political group that has obtained the greatest number of seats in the past elections on July 23.

In this sense, it should be noted that, except in the XI Legislature, in all the general elections held since the entry into force of the Constitution, the candidate of the political group that has obtained the greatest number of seats has been the first to be proposed by His Majesty the King as a candidate for the Presidency of the Government. This practice has become a custom over the years.

In the consultation procedure carried out by His Majesty the King, to date, the existence of a sufficient majority for the investiture has not been verified, which, if applicable, would cause this custom to decline.

Fourth – In accordance with the provisions of section 3 of article 99 of the Constitution, if Mr. Alberto Núñez Feijóo obtains the confidence of the Chamber, he will be appointed President of the Government.

In accordance with the provisions of section 4 of article 99, if the confidence of the Chamber is not obtained, His Majesty the King will process successive proposals in the manner provided in said article so that the Congress of Deputies can decide whether or not to grant confidence in the candidate proposed by His Majesty the King.

And in the absence of the granting of that trust, His Majesty the King would proceed, in the terms provided in section 5 of article 99 of the Constitution, to the dissolution of the Chambers and the calling of new general elections with the endorsement of the President of the Congress of Deputies.

In other words, although the PP has been proposed to lead the country by the King, this is the constitutional norm, but it will still require Feijóo to obtain sufficient votes from his fellow parliamentarians. Some groups, such as the Canarian coalition, have told the King he has their support, they also said that if Pedro Sanchez makes them a better offer, they might change.

The PP’s partners in the runup to the election, the far-right VOX, have also said they will now once again support the PP, but “with conditions”. Both parties fell out between the elections and this round of progress.

So, in a nutshell, although the King has made a proposal, it is still up to the parliamentarians to make the final decision, which could still go the way of the PSOE and Pedro Sanchez or could lead to another general election.

The post King proposes PP leader forms Government of Spain appeared first on Spain Today – Breaking Spanish News, Sport, and Information.