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Spain is edging closer to a repeat general election in November. Time is running out before 23 September for the main party, the Socialist PSOE, to do a deal with left-wing Unidas Podemos (UP) on government to help Pedro Sánchez be sworn in as
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There was no significant movement this week in the conflicting positions of the Socialist PSOE party and Unidas Podemos (UP) on how to form a government. The PSOE, under Pedro Sánchez, will present itself in investiture votes on 23 and 25 July but
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...is acting PM in the meantime, has been in negotiations with Unidas Podemos to add the support of its MPs to his own 123. Sánchez wants a government of collaboration, with second-level ministerial jobs going to some Unidas Podemos members. However, ... leader, Pablo Iglesias, is holding out for some full ministerial positions. The Partido Popular and Ciudadanos parties have refused to abstain in the investiture debate due in mid-July to allow in a minority PSOE government. Unidas Podemos said this
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...the support of left-wing Unidas Podemos (UP) for his candidacy. FIRST VOTE RESULT Absolute majority required. In Tuesday's first vote by MPs in Congreso, Pedro Sánchez failed to win the 176 votes needed in the 350-seat chamber. Votes in favour. ... 124 (the PSOE's own MPs plus one Cantabrian regionalist). Votes against. 170 'no' votes from PP, Ciudadanos, Vox, ERC, Junts per Catalunya, Navarra Suma and Coalición Canaria. Abstentions. 52: Unidas Podemos, PNV, Compromís and Bildu. SECOND
Opinion
Mark Nayler
...unwilling to consider a full coalition with the Socialists. And given that his talks with Unidos Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias are never straightforward, Sánchez will face the same problems in passing a budget as he did before April's election - namely,
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...said that he wasn't ruling out a "government of cooperation" between the PSOE and Unidos Podemos, which would see the more left-wing party getting some ministerial posts. He also opened the door to a form of deal with the MPs of the Catalan separatist ... parties which had been rejected up to then. Ábalos met with leaders of smaller parties on Wednesday, including Basque nationalist PNV. He blamed the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos, the main opposition parties, for needing to talk to Unidos Podemos and
Opinion
Mark Nayler
For the last few years, leftist party Podemos has been a fairly dependable ally of Pedro Sánchez's Socialists. But there are signs that that is changing: it's as if, with regional elections due across Spain this spring, Pablo Iglesias' party wants ... the party declined to support a housing bill proposed by Sánchez's government. Designed to make rental costs more accessible in major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, the decree didn't impose sufficient price caps, said Podemos. As Spain's ... Socialist government approaches potentially fraught budget negotiations, in which Podemos' support will be crucial, it was an ominous sign. Podemos did vote for other measures proposed by the Socialists in Tuesday's parliamentary session, though, and
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There has been no agreement between the Socialist PSOE party and left-wing Unidas Podemos to help form a new government. PSOE leader and acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faced a difficult PM questions session on Wednesday, when all parties ... party but without enough MPs to form a majority. After a failed investiture attempt before the summer, the chances of a deal with the MPs of natural ally, left wing alliance Unidas Podemos, slipped away in the last few weeks. On Tuesday (September ... be PM, knowing that he didn't have enough support among MPs. Sánchez attacked other parties for failing to support his MPs with a majority or abstaining. The leader of Unidas Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, was accused of being "dogmatic" after Iglesias
National
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The leader of political party Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, and his partner, Irene Montero, also a top party member, have become the parents of twin boys. The babies, which are expected to be called Leo and Manuel, were born three months prematurely ... couple were at the centre of a controversy in May when it emerged that they had bought a 600,000-euro house outside Madrid to bring up the children in. Their party, Podemos, was founded as part of an anti-capitalist street movement and they were seen as
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The ruling PSOE party has struck a deal with left-wing coalition, Unidos Podemos, over 2019 budget proposals for the Spanish government. The agreement was signed on Thursday morning. The package is only a proposal as it needs to be approved by