With leader out, new premier says he’ll tackle graft
MADRID — Prime Ministerelect Pedro Sanchez pledged Friday to root out the corruption that helped bring down Spain’s outgoing conservative government and pledged to help people affected by years of public spending cuts under his predecessor, Mariano Rajoy.
Minutes after narrowly winning a no-confidence vote in parliament, the Socialist party leader signaled a change in tone and priorities from Rajoy’s unbending commitment to reducing the national debt during his more than six years as prime minister.
Sanchez, the 46-year-old head of what has been Spain’s main opposition party, has never held a government post.
He said he would address what he called the “social emergencies” of Spaniards after years of government austerity.
“I’m aware of the responsibility and the complex political moment of our country,” Sanchez said in brief comments to reporters after the 180-169 vote in the Congress of Deputies, Spain’s parliament. One lawmaker abstained.
Sanchez will be sworn in Saturday by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid and will appoint his Cabinet over the coming days. His triumph was a dramatic return to the spotlight after being fired as party leader less than two years ago.
Sanchez said he intended to call elections before the end of this parliamentary term in 2020, but he didn’t say when, and he probably will want to make his mark first with some headline policies before going to the polls.
A tough path lies ahead for his minority government, however. It will face a political minefield as it tries to steer legislation through parliament by winning support from rival parties. The Socialists have only 84 seats — just under a quarter of the total.
Sanchez said he would seek to build a consensus to try to weed out corruption.
He also said he wanted to “transform and modernize” Spain, including improving job security, fighting inequality, providing a better life for the elderly and investing in public health care.
The former economics professor and career politician inherits a strong economy in which growth last year reached 3.1 percent. But a question remains over where he might find the money to pay for his Socialist party’s ambitions.
Like the other 18 member countries of the eurozone shared currency bloc, Spain is locked into rules that keep a lid on spending and hold debt at sustainable levels.
Spain is the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.