Spain’s socialist PSOE party and the left-wing alliance of Sumar said on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to form a coalition government, a key step to reinstating acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for another term.
Spain is in political limbo since an inconclusive July general election which was won by the right-wing People’s Party (PP) but without enough support to form a government.
Last month PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo lost a key parliamentary vote to become prime minister. ALSO READ: After Feijóo fails in his bid to become Spain’s prime minister, what happens next?
Sánchez, whose PSOE party finished second, now has a chance. Sumar’s support is crucial but not enough to ensure he will pass a confidence vote in the Spanish Congress.
Sánchez still needs the backing of smaller regional parties, including the Catalan pro-indepedence parties, Junts per Catalaunya (JxCat) and Esquerra Republicana (ERC).
The deal reached between the PSOE and Sumar includes a proposal to reduce working hours without reducing salaries, measures to boost public housing and a ‘shock plan’ against youth unemployment, the two parties said in a joint statement.
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