After the royal decree with his appointment was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) with the signature of Felipe VI, Pedro Sánchez has promised his post as President of the Government before the King this Friday at 10.00 am in the Zarzuela Palace.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, was sworn in yesterday in Congress after winning the support of 179 MPs in the first vote of the investiture session held on Thursday. He had the backing of 121 PSOE MPs, 31 from Sumar, seven from ERC, seven from Junts, six from Bildu, five from PNV, one from BNG and one from Coalición Canaria. A total of eight parties will make it the largest coalition government in history. The other 171 deputies in Congress, 137 from the PP, 33 from Vox and one from UPN, voted against.

Francina Armengol, president of the Congress of Deputies, was in charge of informing the King of the result of the investiture session. From that moment on, all the necessary protocol was set in motion to organise the act of promise of office in Zarzuela, which was held this morning at 10 am.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Audience Hall, where Sánchez took the oath of office before the Constitution to take up his post as head of the coalition government between PSOE and Sumar, along with the rest of the parties.

 

He did so in front of a copy of the constitutional text and without religious symbols, as occurred on the two previous occasions on which he promised his office before the King, in June 2018 and January 2020.

Francina Armengol informed the King yesterday of the result of the vote in Congress. Photos: Congress of Deputies and Casa de S.M. el Rey.

Government formation

Sánchez will announce the list of his ministers at the end of this week in order to hold the first Council of Ministers next Tuesday. The new government will have fewer ministries than the current one, which set a record with 22 portfolios. It has not yet been confirmed whether the president will keep his hard core, made up of Félix Bolaños, María Jesús Montero and Pilar Alegría. Nadia Calviño is also a question mark, as the acting economy minister is a strong candidate to chair the European Investment Bank. On Sumar’s side, Yolanda Díaz will continue as Minister of Labour, although it has yet to be decided whether she will remain with the rank of second vice-president.