Spanish socialists strike coalition deal with far-left Sumar alliance

Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE), led by outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Yolanda Díaz’s far-left Sumar coalition on Tuesday signed an agreement to form a coalition government.

The deal includes a range of social measures, including proposals to regulate job cuts, raise the minimum wage and reduce working hours without decreasing salaries, according to Spanish outlet El Pais.

Spain has been in political limbo since July after an inconclusive national election failed to give any of the major parties a clear path to form a government.

Sánchez’s Socialists, which came in second, were tasked with forming a government earlier this month, after the center-right Popular Party, which got the most votes in the election, failed to secure the support of a majority in parliament.

An agreement between the Socialists and Sumar was widely expected but it is not enough to secure a majority, so Sánchez still needs to gain the backing of smaller regional parties.

His hardest task will be earning the support of the Catalan separatist Junts group and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), which are both demanding a blanket amnesty for those implicated in the failed 2017 Catalan independence referendum, as well as Madrid’s explicit consent to hold a new vote on self-determination.

Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, has until November 27 to secure the backing of a majority of lawmakers. If he fails, Spain will hold new elections on January 14, 2024.